Diario histórico de la rebelion y guerra de los pueblos Guaranis situados en la costa oriental del Rio Uruguay, del año de 1754

In this meticulously transcribed diary, a Jesuit priest records the tense months of 1754 when the Guarani peoples of the eastern Uruguay River rose against the encroaching claims of Spain and Portugal. The narrative lays out the secret treaty of 1750, the competing ambitions of colonial governors, and the uneasy role of missionaries caught between royal directives and indigenous survival. Readers hear the grievances voiced in provincial councils and the maps drawn to justify the disputed frontier.

The diary follows the escalation from diplomatic pleas to violent confrontation, describing how a messenger sent to warn the rebels was captured and burned alive, sealing the break between negotiation and war. It details the hurried assembly of Spanish, Portuguese, and local militias destined to march on the villages of San Miguel and Santo Ángel. Through the priest’s observations, the work captures the clash of cultures, the weight of imperial politics, and the desperate determination of the Guarani to defend their lands.