was based mainly on hunting, gathering and fishing. They also cultivated small plots of land and had some domestic animals.41 They roamed their lands using nature to the extent that the seasons and their cultural technology allowed, which meant that they displaced and occupied a very extensive area.42 57. The indigenous peoples were unrelated to the interests of the Spanish colonization and remained relatively out of contact with European and Criollo culture until the end of the nineteenth century.43 58. Between 1885 and 1887, the State sold two-thirds of the Chaco44 on the London stock exchange to finance Paraguay’s debt after the so-called War of the Triple Alliance. The division and sale of these lands was carried out without the knowledge of the inhabitants of the area who, at that time, were exclusively indigenous peoples.45 59. From an economic point of view, for the past two centuries, the structure of the Chaco lands developed mainly by the expansion of the agricultural frontier, based on different kinds of crops, logging and cattle-raising.46 The settlement of the Chaco by numerous entrepreneurs and ranchers as owners of immense estates increased considerably at the beginning of the twentieth century.47 Simultaneously, several religious missions settled different areas of the region in order to “christianize” the indigenous peoples.48 60. The establishment of the International Products Corporation on the right bank of the Paraguay River, and of Puerto Pinasco as a base, its extension westwards, its gradual division into ranches, its alliance with the Anglican missionaries for the “religious pacification” and work-related training of the indigenous peoples, and its use of mechanisms to control the indigenous population, led to the progressive concentration of villages of mixed ethnic origin in villages where Anglican missions or ranches of the company or of other livestock owners were established nearby.49 Since then, the lands of the Paraguayan Chaco have been transferred to private owners and progressively divided up. 41 Cf. Kidd, Stephen: “Los Indígenas Enxet: condiciones laborales”, supra note 40, folio 3678. 42 Cf. Case of the Sawhoyamaxa Indigenous Community v. Paraguay, supra note 20, para. 73(2). 43 Cf. Expert testimony of Rodolfo Stavenhagen, supra note 17, folios 620 to 651. 44 Cf. Expert testimony of Rodolfo Stavenhagen, supra note 17, folios 620 to 651, and Kidd, Stephen: “Los Indígenas Enxet: condiciones laborales”, supra note 40, folio 3678. 45 Cf. Case of the Sawhoyamaxa Indigenous Community v. Paraguay, supra note 20, para. 73(1), and Case of the Yakye Axa Indigenous Community v. Paraguay, supra note 5, para. 50(10). 46 Cf. Expert testimony of Rodolfo Stavenhagen, supra note 17, folio 623, and expert testimony of Sergio Iván Braticevic, supra note 17, folios 4238, 4240, and 4251. 47 Cf. Expert testimony of José Alberto Braunstein, supra note 22, folio 279. 48 Cf. Expert testimony of José Alberto Braunstein, supra note 22, folio 279; expert testimony of Rodolfo Stavenhagen, supra note 17, folios 620 to 651, and Kidd, Stephen. “Los Indígenas Enxet: condiciones laborales,” supra note 40, folio 3678. 49 Cf. 1950 map entitled “International Product’s Corporation” (file of attachments to the pleadings and motions brief, tome VII, attachment 15, folios 2906 to 2909); 2008 map entitled “Antiguas aldeas Angaité, misiones anglicanas y estancias del IPC,” prepared by Fortis and Villagra (file of attachments to the pleadings and motions brief, tome VII, attachment 15, folio 2910); The Magazine of the South American Missionary Society of October 1930 (file of attachments to the pleadings and motions brief, tome VII, attachment 14, folio 2875); The South American Missionary Society Magazines of January and February 1941 (file of appendices to the application, appendix 3, tome I, 3, folio 368); The Magazines of the South American Missionary Society of January and February 1944 (file of attachments to the pleadings and motions brief, tome VII, attachment 14, folio 2895), and Testimony of Rodrigo Villagra Carron, supra note 17. 15