You may think of the country as being Spanish, but it was not always so, nor is it altogether so today. The early inhabitants were the Guarani Indians. In about 1520, Portuguese explorers under the leadership of Alejo García were the first whites to enter the land. During the following decade, the Spaniards began to establish themselves in the area of what is now Asunción. The country remained subject to Spain until 1811, but the Guarani language was never replaced by that of the conquistadores. As a result Guarani, a beautiful language with melodious qualities, is the mother tongue spoken by the majority in modern-day Paraguay, and it occupies a place, along with Spanish, as one of the official languages.

A few decades after the arrival of European explorers, the Jesuits came to convert the Guarani to Roman Catholicism. At that time the Guarani had no images or temples. But the Jesuits gathered the Indians into communal settlements where they taught them Catholic rites and hymns while also teaching them trades and skills. The Jesuits used some of the proceeds of the Indians’ labor to provide them with basic necessities of life, but they also used the arrangement to gain wealth and power. Many Spanish landowners envied this. They complained to the Spanish king, Charles III, about the growing power of the Jesuits. This complaint, not from the Guarani, but from Catholic colonists was a major factor leading to Spain’s expulsion of the Jesuits from the empire in 1767. But the Catholicism that they had taught maintained its hold on the lives of the people. They adopted the outward forms of Catholicism while, in many cases, they also clung to some native beliefs. This encouraged an atmosphere in which superstition could thrive. With their acceptance of Catholicism, the powerful influence of the Catholic clergy also came into their lives.

That religious heritage did not bring peace to the land. Warfare has profoundly affected the history of Paraguay, leaving deep scars on the lives of the people. From 1864 until 1870, under Francisco Solano López, Paraguay fought against Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay. The results were disastrous. According to available records, the country’s population at the beginning of the war was possibly a million or more. At the end it was said to be about 220,000, of whom at least 190,000 were women and children. Other wars followed; one involved a dispute with Bolivia over ownership of the Chaco, and others were due to political unrest. Perhaps it should come as no surprise, therefore, that in Paraguay those who wanted power over others frequently resorted to physical force to achieve their aims.

In 1932, Paraguay became involved in another war, this time with Bolivia. Once again the manpower of the nation was decimated. There were adverse effects on the country’s economy and on the security of those who might come from abroad with the good news of the Kingdom.