Encomienda | Encyclopedia.com (2021, September 9). The encomienda system was one of the many horrors inflicted on the Indigenous people of the New World during the conquest and colonial eras. Initially, the natives labored without limit, benefit, or tenure. It does not, however, amount to a policy of ethnocide through genocide. Later, a chieftain named Guarionex laid havoc to the countryside before an army of about 3,090 routed the Ciguana people under his leadership. [28] In the rest of Chile it was abolished in 1789, and in the whole Spanish empire in 1791. This system was fundamental to the economics of early Spanish colonialism. Puente Brunke, Jose de la.
Puerto Rico | Genocide Studies Program - Yale University The origins of the institution in the Americas dates back to 1497 when Christopher Columbus assigned native communities to Francisco Rold and his men. The encomenderos were then required to pay remaining encomienda labourers for their work. The encomenderos were then required to pay remaining encomienda laborers for their work. Once the encomiendas reverted to the crown, they were overseen by corregidores, royal agents who administered crown holdings. Encomienda spread with the spread of Spanish colonies and became a common feature of their economies. Under the Crown conception of encomienda, indigenous people were free Crown subjects. -Natives remained legally free. Las Casas was an early encomendero in Hispaniola. [35], Yale University's genocide studies program supports this view regarding abuses in Hispaniola. 1528), Encomienda-Doctrina System in Spanish America, Encountering Tahiti: Samuel Wallis and the Voyage of the Dolphin, https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/encomienda, https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/encomienda-0, https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/encomienda, Early Settlement of the Americas by Spain. Hernan Cortes, who conquered the Aztec Empire and ruled much of what is now Mexico, came from a family of noble rank but little wealth. The first New World haciendas, granted in the Caribbean, often had only 50 to 100 Indigenous people and even on such a small scale, it wasnt long before the encomenderos had virtually enslaved their subjects. The Spanish Crown envisioned encomienda as a system of mutual obligations between indigenous people and colonists. The resulting widespread protest throughout Spanish America along with a rebellion and civil war in Peru forced the crown to back down in the short run, but they also strengthened its resolve to break the power of the encomendero elite. "Slave Resistance in the Spanish Caribbean in the Mid-1790s," in. (February 23, 2023). a system in which land was distributed to the native people. This practice made its way to the West Indies (Caribbean islands) by 1499: Christopher Columbus (14511506), who is believed to have opposed the traditional feudal system, nevertheless conceded encomiendas to his men. This was the case when and where encomenderos used their positions of authorityon the town council, for exampleto grant themselves land parcels (mercedes) from among the lands once used by their Indian charges. The Codice Osuna, one of many colonial-era Aztec codices (indigenous manuscripts) with native pictorials and alphabetic text in Nahuatl, there is evidence that the indigenous were well aware of the distinction between indigenous communities held by individual encomenderos and those held by the Crown.[21]. They did not change the quotas even when crops failed or disasters struck: many Native Peruvians were forced to choose between fulfilling quotas and starving to death or failing to meet quotas and facing the often-lethal punishment of the overseers. The encomienda lasted from the beginning of the sixteenth century to the seventeenth century. The northernmost extent of the encomienda system was in what is known now as the US state of New Mexico, and the southernmost extent was the Chiloe Islands of Chile. The encomienda was not officially abolished until the late 18th century. Encomienda (roughly translated: trustee) was a formal system of forced labor in Spanish colonies in Latin America and the Philippines, intended to encourage conquest and colonization. ", Johnson, Lyman L. "A Lack of Legitimate Obedience and Respect: Slaves and Their Masters in the Courts of Late Colonial Buenos Aires,". Encomienda that requires extensive use of forced labor simply did not have enough people to function. The encomienda system was put in place in several areas, most importantly in Peru. (February 23, 2023). Lima: IEP, Instituto de Estudios Peruanos, 2000. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/topic/encomienda. -Natives were required to perform a fixed amount of labor. Gonzalo Pizarro's supporters had urged him to declare himself King of Peru, but he refused: had he done so, Peru might have successfully split from Spain 300 years early. The encomienda was essential to the Spanish crown's sustaining its control over North, Central and South America in the first decades after the colonization. [25], The liberation of thousands of Native Americans held in bondage throughout the Spanish empire by the new viceroy, Blasco Nez Vela, on his journey to Peru, led to his eventual murder and armed conflict between the encomenderos and the Spanish crown which ended with the execution of those encomenderos involved. Why The Serfs Abolished Russia 138 Words | 1 Pages. Mendicants: Overview, History & Orders | Who were the Mendicants? Lowcountry Digital History Initiative", "Slavery and Atlantic slave trade facts and figures", "A century between resistance and adaptation: commentary on source 021", "Slavery took hold in Florida under the Spanish in the 'forgotten century' of 1492-1619", "Perspective - Everyone is talking about 1619. Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture. Spoils of war were crucial during the Crusades and the Reconquista (reconquest) in Iberia (see below).
Give Me Liberty-An American History-Chapter 1 Flashcards | Quizlet What was the Encomienda System? - Study.com As a member, you'll also get unlimited access to over 88,000 In 1564, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, formerly the governor of Mexico City, established a colony at Cebu in the Philippines. Started in 1529 and ended in 1873. or when did it The Spanish crown reluctantly approved the granting of encomiendas because it needed to reward the conquistadors and establish a system of governance in the newly-conquered territories, and the encomiendas were a quick-fix that killed both birds with one stone. The prime motivation for this system was to bring Christianity to the 'heathens', as the natives were called by the colonial settlers. Unlike the Spanish peninsular version of the encomienda, the grant in the New World did not give the grantee, or encomendero, legal right to own land. Walker, Tamara J. Some of the encomenderos managed to secure title-deeds to certain lands: unlike the encomiendas, these could be passed down from one generation to the next.
Chattel Slavery: Definition and America - Study.com [12][13][14] Vassal Inca rulers appointed after the conquest also sought and were granted encomiendas. Las Casas wrote extensively about his life in Hispaniola and in Cuba, including the treatment of indigenous people. Colonization would have destroyed local cultures no matter the labor system imposed. Presta, Ana Mara. Existing encomiendas would pass to the crown upon the death of the encomendero, and no new encomiendas were to be granted. [22] Conceding to Las Casas's viewpoint, the peace treaty between the Tanos and the audiencia was eventually disrupted in four to five years. The encomienda system was at least partly responsible for the emergence of a new mixed population called Mestizos people who are of white European and American Indian descent. It was essentially enslavement, given but a thin (and illusory) veneer of respectability for the Catholic education that it implied. Encomienda was imposed in Hispaniola by Nicolas de Ovando, the third governor of that colony, soon after he arrived in 1502. Wages were paid, with most of the wages owed to the Crown. Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list. Gibbings, Julie. flashcard sets. Retrieved February 23, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/encomienda. It was the first major organizational law instituted on the continent, which was affected by war, widespread disease epidemics caused by Eurasian diseases, and resulting turmoil. [26], In most of the Spanish domains acquired in the 16th century the encomienda phenomenon lasted only a few decades. The connection between the encomienda and the hacienda, or large landed estate, has been the subject of debate. But they were directly allotted to the Crown, who, through a local Crown official, would assign them to work for settlers for a set period of time, usually several weeks. Spanish colonists wanted indigenous people alive to provide labor. James Lockhart, "Encomienda and Hacienda: The Evolution of the Great Estate in the Spanish Indies," in Hispanic American Historical Review 49, no. It refers to a system that was used by Spain in the New World to reward the conquistadors (conquerors).
Why did the Spanish monarchy abolished the encomienda system? 16 chapters | Their wealth and their status as first-and second-generation conquerors gave them the leisure and respect that enabled them to exercise an early monopoly of the town councils. Slavery was abolished in the United States with the passage of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in December of 1865, eight months after the end of the Civil War. Love, Edgar F. "Negro Resistance to Spanish Rule in Colonial Mexico," Journal of Negro History 52, no. The Indigenous people were often forced to walk for days with heavy loads to be delivered to their encomendero. characteristics of the repartimiento system -Natives were paid wages. The encomenderos there showed an inhuman indifference to the suffering of the families on their encomiendas. In the encomienda, the Spanish Crown granted a person a specified number of natives from a specific community but did not dictate which individuals in the community would have to provide their labour. The encomienda system did not grant people land, but it indirectly aided in the settlers' acquisition of land. By the time the new laws were passed, in 1542, the Spanish crown had acknowledged their inability to control and properly ensure compliance of traditional laws overseas, so they granted to Native Americans specific protections not even Spaniards had, such as the prohibition of enslaving them even in the case of crime or war.
1.4: Spanish Exploration and Conquest - Humanities LibreTexts The Indigenous people were supposed to provide tribute, in the form of gold or silver, crops, and foodstuffs, animals such as pigs or llamas or anything else the land produced. Hispanic American Historical Review 51, no. The Safavid Empire: Creation, Rulers, Characteristics & Shi'ism. In New Spain (present-day Mexico and parts of the western U.S.), people who later arrived also enjoyed royal support and were given encomendero status. Foner, Laura, and Eugene D. Genovese, eds. Like the encomenderos, many individuals who received land grants were given parcels from among those that had been abandoned by Indians because of either death or flight. It was based upon the practice of exacting tribute from Muslims and Jews during the Reconquista (Reconquest) of Muslim Spain. Rodrguez Baquero, Luis Enrique. These limits were a source of tension between the Crown and encomenderos. The goal of encomienda was, at least initially, to generate portable wealth. C. H. Haring, The Spanish Empire in America (1947). In reality, indigenous people were forced to provide labor. As councilmen they set prices for basic goods and services as well as the standards of morality and sanitation for the Spanish community. Tindall, George Brown & David E. Shi (1984).
Encomienda - Wikipedia In Mexico, for instance, it was not until the constitutional reform after the Mexican Revolution that the encomienda system was abolished. In Puerto Rico, the Tano primarily worked in the gold mines. However, in the most remote areas, encomiendas were often kept throughout the colonial period in complete defiance of the royal decree in order to populate these regions. In 1550, the crown abolished the encomienda system, which had allowed the Spanish to seize Native Americans' lands and force their labor. Leaders of the Reconquista were granted the title of adelantado (one who goes in advance) with the authority to establish control on behalf of the Crown. [15] Initially, the encomienda system was devised to meet the needs of the early agricultural economies in the Caribbean. tried to enforce the New Laws, which provided for the gradual abolition of the encomienda, many of the encomenderos were unwilling to comply with them and revolted against him. On the other hand, the crown had made it quite clear that the Indigenous people were not enslaved but Spanish subjects with certain rights, which were being flagrant, systematically, and horrifically violated. Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History. He described slavery as "cultural genocide par excellence" noting "it is the most effective and thorough method of destroying culture, of desocializing human beings". Avellaneda, Jose Ignacio. Far more often, other scholars contend, haciendas developed independently of encomiendas. Consequences of the Conquest of the Aztecs, The 10 Best Books About Early Colonial History, 10 Facts About the Conquest of the Inca Empire, 10 Notable Spanish Conquistadors Throughout History, Biography of Diego de Almagro, Spanish Conquistador, Biography of Francisco Pizarro, Spanish Conqueror of the Inca, Armor and Weapons of the Spanish Conquistadors, The History of Latin America in the Colonial Era, Biography of Hernn Corts, Ruthless Conquistador. 2019Encyclopedia.com | All rights reserved. In the Americas, the Crown portion amounted to 20% of the production of a colony; the system was an important money-making proposition. Robert G. Keith, "Encomienda, Hacienda, and Corregimiento in Spanish America: A Structural Analysis," in Hispanic American Historical Review 51, no. Tenochtitlan the Aztec Capital History & Defeat | Who Conquered the Aztecs? Note that conditions for indigenous workers remained particularly brutal in Peru, even under repartimiento. The fact that the settlers rebelled, fought and died to fight the New Laws only shows how deeply they had sunk into greed and cruelty. The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America (Kindle Locations 338-341). Encyclopedia.com gives you the ability to cite reference entries and articles according to common styles from the Modern Language Association (MLA), The Chicago Manual of Style, and the American Psychological Association (APA). These problems appeared quickly. Royal officials sent decrees ordering the fair treatment of the natives. Encomienda, the right to control the labor of and collect tribute from an Indian community, granted to subjects, especially the first conquerors and their descendants, as a reward for service to the Spanish crown. However, in Peru and New Spain the encomienda institution lasted much longer. The mercury mines were particularly lethal. The system was created in the Middle Ages and was pivotal to allow for the repopulation and protection of frontier land during the reconquista.