The Jesuit missions among the Guarani were a type of settlement for the Guaraní people ("Indians" or "Indios") in an area straddling the borders of present-day Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina (the triple frontier). The missions were established by the Jesuit Order of the Catholic Church early in the 17th century and wound up in the late 18th century after the expulsion of the Jesuit order from the Americas. The missions have been called an experiment in "socialist theocracy" or a rare example of "benign colonialism". Detractors have said that "the Jesuits took away the Indians' freedom, forced them to radically change their lifestyle, physically abused them, and subjected them to disease".