Yapeyú - Jesuits reduction

This town is located on the banks of the Uruguay River and on national route No. 14. It lies 380km. away from the city of Corrientes. By 1754, and according to available information, the Jesuitical Reduction of Yapeyú numbered 6,910 inhabitants, all of which were Guaraní Indians with the exception of the Jesuit fathers who were in charge of the mission´s organization and the evangelization of the Indians.
Since it was far from the other reductions, it was not affected by the small-poxpest that ravaged other towns. Its church was the largest of all the missions and nowadays one can appreciate its floors and the bases of its columns at the Father Furlong Museum. Yapeyu´s importance grew because of its workshops where musical instruments such as organs, clavichords, guitars and violins were, manufactured. Upon the expulsion of the Jesuits, José de San Martín y Gómez father of the greatest man in Argentine history, was appointed administrator of the town.

The Jesuits arrived in America in the 16th century and set out to preach the gospel to the natives. They founded towns based on an organization that still amazes the world. The Jesuitical Retductions introduced the Guaraní Indian to the practice of Christianity in a vast territory comprising the south of Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and the Argentine litoral. The use of duly planned Indian labor enabled the creation of a firm economic base that gave rise to many conflicts over the possession of the native workers. This experience came to an end with the expulsion of the Jesuits from the country in 1768. The thirty towns they had created became disconnected with the organization of the different nation-states. Most of these towns were destroyed, but in our country one can still appreciate their magnificence in the ruins of the Reductions of San Ignacio, Loreto, Santa María and Santa Ana in the Province of Misiones and Yapeyú, Santo Tomé and San Carlos in the province of Corrientes. They were declared part of the World´s Historical Heritage by the UNESCO. In every case there are museums that harbor many remnants of these reductions that were gathered during the excavation work carried out in the area.