Question

The Jesuits set up missions in Brazil and used the indigenous people for labor. What did the Jesuits do to create a more pleasant environment for the hard labor that the indigenous people had to endure?

Answer 1

Jesuit missions were agrarian communities, were the indigenous people were taught skills and arts, together with Christian doctrine. The pleasant environment was created in the sense of trading the labor for "cultural" goods. Also, the Jesuit priests help the Indians against the slave raids of colonizers (bandeirantes).

Explanation:

The Jesuit missions were in essence a theocratic society, which can be exemplified by modern Amish or menonite communities. In this way, the cultural exchange between the European priests and the Indians was essential to create the balance between labor, missionary work, and defence against the bandeirantes.