An analysis of the film The Mission and it’s depiction of historical Power struggles in Latin American Colonies.

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Unlike other colonies with population diversity beyond indigenous and European, the Guarani could only relate to the Jesuits on a level that was ungovernable by any other colonial power or regulation. A similar observation is done by Mabuen Abad y Queipo in his observations highlighted in Legacies of Colonialism (pg. 16 chapter 4) who explained that the fear of punishment is not enough to govern the colony but rather the lower level religious leaders who were the most effective in exacting change and power. “it is they who have the most influence on the hearts of the people and they who strive most to keep them obedient and submissive to the sovereign” ( Abad y Queipo, Representacion sobre La Inmunidad personal del Clero” trans John Lynch Latin American Revolutions 1808-1826) The Guarani had no use for Colonial laws that only limited them or placed them in the path of total dominion and slavery so they revolted to the shift of power.

To deny to this recognition of power was to challenge the Colony and thus the Crown. In a historical context this refusal to comply with Colonial domination by way of religious conversion would often result in force. Seed argues that this behavior is a legacy from the religious wars in Europe in which Christianity imposed the Christian faith on prisoners of war and converted them to ensure they did not fall hostage to Islam. In the case of the film although conversion is the main goal of the Jesuits complete dominion over the Indigenous population is not their end game. It is that sympathy towards Indigenous populace that Abad y Queipo speaks about in his observations that makes the Jesuits like Gabriel defy Cardinal mandate and remain to defend the mission.

Another aspect that can be explored to further understand the decision of the Jesuits to defend the Indigenous people, is that the Cardinal’s decision to mandate the Jesuits to abandon the mission was based on colonial convenience so as to maintain economic power both in the colonies as well as maintain a good standing amongst Colonizing powers in Europe. This act to decide between two evils so as to maintain good standing and benefits from colonial powers at the expense of the Guarani’s freedom demonstrates the hypocrisy of the church. A decision that Cardinal Altamirano regrets in the end after the Guarani are massacred at the expense of protecting the trade with Portugal.

In summation the film did a great job in showcasing the complexity of the power struggles between colonized and Colonial power. It told a difficult story of colonial life, and showed many ways in which subjugation of Indigenous people took place. Most importantly it explained the hierarchical of colonial needs were presented to deal with the colonies and its unwilling members, and yet with every disadvantage they still fought for the freedom they once had.