Fronteras, colonización y mano de obra indígena en la Amazonía andina (siglos XIX–XX): La construcción del espacio socio-económico amazónico en Ecuador, Perú y Bolivia (1792–1948)

This book is a valuable contribution to the study of the Amazon region seen from the perspective of the Andean nations (Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia). Five authors present studies of the Andean Amazon, from different points of view. Pilar García Jordán examines the Franciscan missions among the Guarayo Indians in Bolivia. Her interest is in the institutional framework within which the missions developed. Using the Guarayos missions as her test case, she shows how the Bolivian government’s regulations changed the mission regime. Her analysis of the 1871 and 1905 regulations are especially valuable, showing how the Bolivian state’s perception of the role of the missions changed over time. The 1871 regulations provided greater independence to the missionary, whereas the 1905 regulations virtually made the missionary an employee of the state, with an obligation to provide laborers for the rubber contractors farther into the Amazon. Although the Franciscans were able eventually...