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The Republic of Paraguay

The original inhabitants of the region out of which Paraguay emerged were semi-nomadic Guarani tribes. Europeans first arrived in the early sixteenth century, and in August 1537 Spanish explorer Juan de Salazar y Espinoza who was looking for gold, established a fort on the Paraguay River, Nuestra Señora de la Asunción (Our Lady of the Assumption) settlement. The city of Asunción became the center of the Spanish South American colonies and headquarters of Jesuit missions in the region.

The Jesuits educated native converts and housed them in settlements called reducciones. When in 1750 King Ferdinand VI of Spain ceded Paraguay to Portugal, the Jesuits revolted along with their Guarani converts, causing the king to expel them from the country.

Paraguay declared its independence after overthrowing the local Spanish administration on May 14, 1811.