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Encomienda

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New Spain

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Encomienda System by Shmoop

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The Encomienda System

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The Encomienda System

2:26

La Encomienda

Encomienda was a labor system in Spain and its empire. It rewarded conquerors with the labor of particular groups of subject people. It was first established in Spain during the Roman period, but used also following the Christian conquest of Muslim territories. It was applied on a much larger scale during the Spanish colonization of the Americas and the Philippines. Conquered peoples were considered vassals of the Spanish monarch. The Crown awarded an encomienda as a grant to a particular individual. In the conquest era of the sixteenth century, the grants were considered to be a monopoly on the labor of particular groups of Indians, held in perpetuity by the grant holder, called the encomendero, and his descendants.
    • History 

    • ''Encomenderos'' 

    • Establishment 

    • Abolition 

    • Repartimiento 

    • Deaths, disease, and accusations of ethnocide or genocide