Plot Summary
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Father Gabriel ascends the mountains of Brazil to bring
Christianity to the natives. He is successful and brings
about a golden age among them.
 Rodrigo Mendoza, a slave-trader, kills his brother in a fit
of rage, and only Fr. Gabriel's guidance prevents his
suicide. Gabriel brings Mendoza to work at his mission
with the natives, and Mendoza finds peace and asks to
become a priest.
 The church , under pressure, cedes the land to the
Portuguese which will allow slave-traders in again.
Mendoza breaks his vows and organizes the natives to
resist while Gabriel warns him to help them as a priest.
Historical Basis
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The Mission is based on events surrounding the Treaty of
Madrid in 1750, in which Spain ceded part of Jesuit Paraguay to
Portugal.
The film's narrator, "Altamirano", speaking in hindsight in 1758,
was sent to Paraguay in 1752 to transfer territory from Spain to
Portugal. He oversaw the transfer of seven missions south and
east of the Río Uruguay, that had been settled by Guaranis and
Jesuits in the 17th century.
As compensation, Spain promised each mission 4,000 pesos, or
fewer than 1 peso for each of the 30,000 Guaranis of the seven
missions, while the cultivated lands, livestock, and buildings were
estimated to be worth 7-16 million pesos.
The film's climax is the Guarani War of 1754-1756, during which
historical Guaranis defended their homes against SpanishPortuguese forces implementing the Treaty of Madrid.
The Characters
The Jesuits: Father Gabriel
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Gabriel is a Jesuit priest who
enters the South American
rainforest with the intention
of building a Christian
mission.
His challenging task is the
conversion of a small tribe of
native Amazonian Indians.
Father Gabriel defends the
Indians and their acceptance
of the faith to the Altamirano.
The Jesuits: Rodrigo Mendoza
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Spanish army officer turned
slave trader Rodrigo
Mendoza is part of the
thriving South American
slave business. He eventually
murders his own brother.
Stricken by grief and
remorse, Mendoza is saved
by Father Gabriel's guidance,
and joins him in his mission.
Here Mendoza finds peace
and seeks to become a priest.
The Church: Cardinal Altamirano
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The Cardinal Altamirano
was sent to South America
by the Pope to settle the
argument between the
Spanish and Portuguese.
He decided that the mission
territories and people were
to be transferred to Portugal,
where they would become
slaves.
Spain
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Don Cabeza is a Spanish
diplomat who wishes to
conduct a slave-trading
business in the mission
territories.
He used to work closely
with Rodrigo Mendoza
until Rodrigo became a
priest.
Portugal
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Sr. Hontar, a diplomat
from Portugal, wanted
the Spanish mission
territories so that he
could use the Indians
as slaves.
Colonial System in America
Assignment
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In new groups of three, you need to research and
present (via PowerPoint) 5 separate, important
points from the following sections. You also must
answer the corresponding questions (answers
may count as points).
Las controversias (68) Questions #1,2,3,4
La maquinaria imperial (70) Questions # 5,6,7
El monopolio comercial (71) Question # 8
El oro y la plata de las Indias (72) Questions 9, 10
De la encomienda a la hacienda (73) Question # 11
La esclavitud (74) Question # 12
La Iglesia en America (75) Question # 13