Encomienda System
Definition
The encomienda system was a labor system instituted by Spain in American colonies where settlers were granted land and given control over local indigenous people who were compelled to work for them in exchange for conversion to Christianity and protection.
Analogy
Imagine if your school gave certain students (the encomenderos) permission to borrow books from others (the indigenous people), but instead of returning them, they kept them indefinitely under their control - that's similar to how encomienda worked!
Related terms
Conquistadors: Spanish explorers who conquered large areas of Central and South America for Spain after its discovery by Columbus.
Columbian Exchange: The widespread transfer of plants, animals, culture, human populations, technology, diseases between Americas and Old World in the 15th and 16th centuries.
Repartimiento System: A colonial forced labor system imposed upon the indigenous population of Spanish America and the Philippines.
"Encomienda System" appears in:
Subjects (1)
Study guides (4)
Practice Questions (14)
The Spanish implemented the Encomienda system which viewed Native Americans as...
Where was the encomienda system created in?
One of the goals of the encomienda system was to ______.
Bartolome de Las Casas was a(n) ____ of the encomienda system.
The encomienda system was used by the Spanish colonizers to:
What was a primary purpose of the encomienda system implemented by Spanish colonists in the Americas?
Who was primarily responsible for implementing the encomienda system in the Spanish colonies?
Who abolished the encomienda system in Spain's New World colonies?
How did the encomienda system primarily affect indigenous communities during early colonization?
Which colonial power's introduction of the encomienda system led to conflict and exploitation of the indigenous people?
How did the encomienda system contribute to conflicts between Europeans and Native Americans?
What policy did the Spanish enforce through encomienda system during their colonization period?
What if Spain hadn't imposed its encomienda system on Native Americans?
How might colonization differ if Spain hadn't instituted an encomienda system during the early colonial period?
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