The encomienda system, a labor system carried out by the Spanish crown within the Americas, granted Spanish colonists (encomenderos) the suitable to extract labor and tribute from the Indigenous inhabitants in a selected space. In alternate, the encomendero was theoretically obligated to supply safety, spiritual instruction, and Spanish language training to these beneath their cost. In follow, this typically led to exploitation and compelled labor.
This method was essential for establishing Spanish management and financial dominance within the New World. It supplied the Spanish with a workforce to domesticate land, mine sources, and construct infrastructure, fueling the extraction of wealth again to Europe. The system performed a major function within the social hierarchy, because it solidified the facility and standing of the Spanish elite whereas subjugating the Indigenous inhabitants. Nonetheless, the brutal therapy of the native individuals additionally precipitated demographic collapse and prompted criticism from figures comparable to Bartolom de las Casas, in the end contributing to its gradual decline and eventual alternative by different labor techniques.
