The Society of Jesus, whose members are known as Jesuits, is a religious group
associated with the Catholic Church. Founded in 1540, the Jesuits arrived in Latin America just
nine years later.1 Their goal was to establish missions and schools for the native people of Latin
America. Through time, they spread throughout Latin America and gained significant
educational, economic, and social influence. During the mid-18th century, the kings of Spain and
Portugal felt that the Jesuits had too strong of an influence and were not loyal enough to the
monarchy thus they were expelled from Latin America. Their schools, churches and landholdings
were taken by the government. Slowly, the Jesuits made their way back into Latin America while
different countries fought for their independence. By the mid-19th century most countries in Latin
American had again expelled the Jesuits. This is significant because there was not one ruler who
made this call as it had been under the Spanish and Portuguese monarchy, it was the ruler of each
individual country. The Jesuits of Latin America were persecuted by multiple countries during
