Asunci�n, known as the "Mother of Cities," is one of the oldest cities in South America. It was from there that the colonial expeditions departed to found other cities, including the second foundation of Buenos Aires, Villarrica, Corrientes, Santa Fe and Santa Cruz de la Sierra.
The first European visitor to the area may have been conquistador Juan de Ayolas, who died in 1537. Nuestra Se�ora de la Asunci�n (Our Lady of the Assumption), was founded on the feast day of the Assumption on August 15, 1537, by Spanish explorers Juan de Salazar (1508-1560) and Gonzalo de Mendoza.
Jesuits established mission settlements on the Paran� River, a tributary of the Paraguay River, in 1588. In 1603, the First Synod of Asunci�n, which set guidelines for the evangelization of the natives in their lingua franca, Guaran�, was held there.
For a time, Asunci�n was important to the Spanish colonial administration, offering access to the South American heartland from the Atlantic coast, up the R�o de la Plata, and then up the R�o Paraguay. The city became the center of a large Spanish colonial province comprising part of Brazil, present-day Paraguay, and northeastern Argentina: the "Giant Province of the Indies."
Asunci�n developed along the river bank. To the east of the river, fertile land supported the growing population. Buildings from the colonial period attest to the prosperity of the city.
In 1731, a failed uprising under Jos� de Antequera y Castro (1690-1732), a Spanish lawyer and judge in Peru, was one of the first rebellions against Spanish colonial rule. In 1767, Jesuit missionaries were expelled.
Paraguay declared its independence after overthrowing the Spanish Governor Bernardo de Velasco on May 14, 1811. Secret meetings between independence leaders were held at the home of Juana Mar�a de Lara in downtown Asunci�n. Lara's home came to be known as Casa de la Independencia (House of the Independence) and serves as a museum and
