The intrinsic reddening of the Magellanic Clouds as traced by background galaxies – I. The bar and outskirts of the Small Magellanic Cloud

European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programmeEuropean Research Council (ERC) [682115]; ERC consolidator grant project STARKEY [615604]; Science and Engineering Research Board, India, through the Ramanujan Fellowship; NSFNational Science Foundation (NSF) [AST 1655677]; FONDECYTComision Nacional de Investigacion Cientifica y Tecnologica (CONICYT)CONICYT FONDECYT [1170364]; Science and Technology Facility Council (STFC) in the UKScience & Technology Facilities Council (STFC); ESO [179.B-2003]; U.S. Department of EnergyUnited States Department of Energy (DOE); U.S. National Science FoundationNational Science Foundation (NSF); Ministry of Science and Education of SpainMinistry of Education and Science, Spain; STFC of the U.K.Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC); Higher Education Funding Council for EnglandHigher Education Funding Council for England; National Center for SupercomputingApplications at theUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Kavli Institute of Cosmological Physics at the University of Chicago; Center for Cosmology and Astro-Particle Physics at the Ohio State UniversityOhio State University; Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy at Texas AM University; Financiadora de Estudos e ProjetosCiencia Tecnologia e Inovacao (FINEP); Fundacao Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparoa Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro; Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e TecnologicoNational Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq); Ministerio da Ciencia, Tecnologia e Inovacao; Deutsche ForschungsgemeinschaftGerman Research Foundation (DFG); Argonne National LaboratoryUnited States Department of Energy (DOE)University of Chicago; University of California at Santa Cruz; University of CambridgeUniversity of Cambridge; Centro de Investigaciones Energeticas; Medioambientales y Tecnologicas-Madrid; University of ChicagoUniversity of Chicago; University College London; DES-Brazil Consortium; University of Edinburgh; Eidgenossische Technische Hochschule (ETH) ZurichETH Zurich; Fermi National Accelerator LaboratoryUnited States Department of Energy (DOE)University of Chicago; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Institut de Ciencies de l'Espai (IEEC/CSIC); Institut de Fisica d'Altes Energies; Lawrence Berkeley National LaboratoryUnited States Department of Energy (DOE); Ludwig-Maximilians Universitat Munchen; associated Excellence Cluster Universe; University of MichiganUniversity of Michigan System; National Optical Astronomy ObservatoryNational Science Foundation (NSF)NSF - Directorate for Mathematical & Physical Sciences (MPS); University of Nottingham; Ohio State UniversityOhio State University; University of Pennsylvania; University of Portsmouth; SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory; Stanford UniversityStanford University; University of Sussex; Texas AM University;[BASAL AFB-170002]