Power passed to royal officials, miners, landowners, and eventually merchants. It was gradually replaced, in part by repartimiento. Under repartimiento, workers provided two to three weeks of labor per year to colonists. It was patterned on grants of land and tribute to those who fought for Spain during the Reconquista. When did the encomienda system start and end? Important years to note for the encomienda system: 1503: The first encomiendas are granted to Spanish conquistadors in the Americas. The Spanish Crown conceived of encomienda as being relatively protective of indigenous people but did not succeed in making it so. ThoughtCo. Encyclopedia of Western Colonialism since 1450. . Native Americans were also enslaved in Florida by the encomienda system. 23 Feb. 2023 . Native Peruvians were to have their rights as citizens of Spain and could not be forced to work if they did not want to. DSST Western Europe Since 1945: Study Guide & Test Prep, Western Europe Since 1945: Certificate Program, CLEP Western Civilization II: Study Guide & Test Prep, Western Civilization From 1648 to Today: Certificate Program, Western Civilization 1648 to the Present: Help and Review, Western Civilization Since 1648: Homework Help Resource, ACCESS World History: Online Textbook Help, History 100: Western Civilization from Prehistory to Post-WWII, CSET English Subtests I & III (105 & 107): Practice & Study Guide, ILTS Social Science - History (246): Test Practice and Study Guide, Create an account to start this course today. The Crown granted the use of land to encomenderos, but not ownership. Foner, Laura, and Eugene D. Genovese, eds. 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. Encomienda spread with the spread of Spanish colonies and became a common feature of their economies. . [34] University of Hawaii historian David Stannard describes the encomienda as a genocidal system which "had driven many millions of native peoples in Central and South America to early and agonizing deaths". The New Laws removed all hope of perpetuity being granted. However, during this time gold was scarce.[9]. The encomienda (Spanish pronunciation:[ekomjenda] (listen)) was a Spanish slave labour system that rewarded conquerors with the labour of conquered non-Christian peoples. However, such cases were relatively few in number. 16 chapters | https://www.thoughtco.com/spains-american-colonies-encomienda-system-2136545 (accessed March 4, 2023). It also swiftly led to abuses: encomenderos made unreasonable demands of the Native Peruvians who lived on their lands, working them excessively or demanding tribute of crops that could not be grown on the land. Best Answer. The system was created in the Middle Ages and was pivotal to allow for the repopulation and protection of frontier land during the reconquista. She has an M.A in instructional education. The owners of the encomiendas were not supposed to ever visit the encomienda lands: this was supposed to cut down on abuses. Queen Isabella of Spain (14511504) considered the natives of the Americas, from the start of Spanish colonization, as free vassals with cert, 14841566 The encomenderos had lobbied for years for the encomiendas to be made permanent and passable from one generation to another, something the King had always resisted. Resndez, Andrs. That grant of labor accompanied a grant of land use. The encomenderos put the Indians to work mining gold and silver; building houses, town halls, and churches; cultivating indigenous and imported crops; herding animals; and transporting goods. Except in peripheral areas of the Spanish New World Empire, like Paraguay, the encomienda had become by the start of the seventeenth century little more than a prestigious claim to a government pension, divorced of any direct control over the Indians. The Spanish Crown aimed at converting indigenous people away from their own beliefs to Catholicism and to displace indigenous government with their governance. The Crown awarded an encomienda as a grant to a particular individual. In the early colonial period of the New World, land had little economic value without the labor to exploit it. Conquistadors were fortune hunters granted authority by the Spanish Crown to establish colonies. In 1510, an Hispaniola encomendero named Valenzuela murdered a group of Native American leaders who had agreed to meet for peace talks in full confidence. Retrieved February 23, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/encomienda. [36] The program cites the decline of the Tano population of Hispaniola in 1492 to 1514 as an example of genocide and notes that the indigenous population declined from a population between 100,000 and 1,000,000 to only 32,000 a decline of 68% to over 96%. He participated in slave raids and kept slaves. (2021, September 9). Under Crown law, a few days of labor was all that people owed. Ethnocide differs from genocide as it is the destruction of a culture, while genocide is the annihilation of a people; genocide can be a means of ethnocide. | 8 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. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. 23 Feb. 2023 . . Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. [24] The Laws of Burgos and the New Laws of the Indies failed in the face of colonial opposition and, in fact, the New Laws were postponed in the Viceroyalty of Peru. Under the Crown conception of encomienda, indigenous people were free Crown subjects. Although the encomienda was not officially abolished until the late 18th century, in September 1721 the conferment of new encomiendas in Spain's colonies was prohibited. 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. Encomienda. The encomenderos of Peru revolted, and eventually confronted the first viceroy, Blasco Nez Vela. The goal of encomienda was, at least initially, to generate portable wealth. In 1542, Charles V of Spain finally listened to them and passed the so-called "New Laws.". o In the encomienda system, the encomenderos had the right to collect tributes or taxes from the are assigned to them. Mit'a was effectively a form of tribute to the Inca government in the form of labor, i.e. In 1542, due to the constant protests of Las Casas and others, the Council of the Indies wrote and King Charles V enacted the New Laws of the Indies for the Good Treatment and Preservation of the Indians. [26], In most of the Spanish domains acquired in the 16th century the encomienda phenomenon lasted only a few decades. Hispanic American Historical Review 51, no. Repartimiento system In 1550, Spain abolished the encomienda system and replaced it with this system, Whereby residents of Indian villages remain legally free and entitled to wages, but were still required to perform a fixed amount of labor each year. In return the encomendero promised to settle down and found a family in the nearest Spanish town, or villa; to protect the Indians; and to arrange for their conversion to the Roman Catholic faith. Try refreshing the page, or contact customer support. Encyclopedia.com. [33][citation needed] Economic historian Timothy J. Yeager argued the encomienda was deadlier than conventional slavery because of an individual labourer's life being disposable in the face of simply being replaced with a labourer from the same plot of land. Spanish Casta System Overview & Purpose | What was the Casta System? The position of encomendero was generally granted for two or three generations (sixty or ninety years), not in perpetuity. Rold and his company had risen in revolt against the Crown's authority and refused to reestablish peace except at that price. Gibbings, Julie. In Puerto Rico, the Tano primarily worked in the gold mines. Started in 1529 and ended in 1873. or when did it Note that conditions for indigenous workers remained particularly brutal in Peru, even under repartimiento. In 1538, Emperor Charles V, realizing the seriousness of the Tano revolt, changed the laws governing the treatment of people labouring in the encomiendas. After a major Crown reform in 1542, known as the New Laws, encomendero families were restricted to holding the grant for two generations. Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list. As legally defined in 1503, an encomienda (from Spanish encomendar, to entrust) consisted of a grant by the crown to a conquistador, a soldier, an official, or others of a specified number of Indios (Native Americans and, later, Filipinos) living in a particular area. Bartolom de Las Casas, who arrived in the New World in 1502, averred that greed was the reason Christians "murdered on such a vast scale", killing "anyone and everyone who has shown the slightest sign of resistance", and subjecting "all males to the harshest and most iniquitous and brutal slavery that man has ever devised for oppressing his fellow-men, treating them, in fact, worse than animals". Copy. Spain The word encomienda comes from the Spanish word encomendar, meaning to entrust. Encomienda that requires extensive use of forced labor simply did not have enough people to function. 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. 13 US Colonies History & Influences | Who Ruled the 13 Colonies? In contrasting the encomienda system with slavery, it is necessary to distinguish between encomienda as it existed in law and reality. Encomienda, familia y negocios en Charcas colonial (Bolivia): Los encomenderos de La Plata, 15501600. Conquered peoples were considered vassals of the Spanish monarch. This system originated in the Catholic south of Spain to extract labour and tribute from Muslims (Moors) before they were exiled in 1492 after the Moorish defeat in the Granada War. The King of Spain almost lost Peru during these conquistador uprisings. succeed. Conquistadors often came to rule conquered territory on behalf of the Crown. To counter their power, the crown began to issue protective legislation, such as the Laws of Burgos (1512) and the New Laws (1542). Therefore, that information is unavailable for most Encyclopedia.com content. One clause of the latter abolished the encomienda at the death of the holder. Slaves escaping to Florida from the colony of Georgia were freed by Carlos II's proclamation November 7, 1693 if . The encomenderos were then required to pay remaining encomienda labourers for their work. The settlers rallied around Gonzalo Pizarro, one of the leaders of the original conquest of the Inca Empire and brother of Francisco Pizarro. ." The receiver of the grant, the encomendero, could exact tribute from the Indios in gold, in kind, or in labour and was required to protect them and instruct them in the Christian faith. 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. Nueva crnica y buen gobierno. Outside of New Spain and Peru, encomienda was short-lived in most Spanish colonies, as the depopulation of the Americas due to war and disease, pressure for reform from the Crown, and changes in colonial economies made the system less serviceable. Monasticism Overview, History & Orders | What is Christian Monasticism? 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. In the Antilles the institution was firmly established under Governor Nicols de Ovbando. Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved February 23, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/encomienda-0. Ovando was a Knight of the Order of Alcantara, which fought the Moors during the Reconquista. Eventually, the encomienda system was replaced by the repartimiento system, but it was not abolished until the late 18th century. The other major form of coerced labor in their colonies, the encomienda system, was also abolished, . When Blasco Nez Vela, the first viceroy of Peru, 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. Later-arriving Spanish immigrants depended on them for the help they needed to build homes and shops, tend plants and animals, or mine ore. Where was the Encomienda system used? A royal supplement had to be paid to support the Philippine colony, which was a drain on Spanish finances. Himmerich designated as pobladores antiguos (old settlers) a group of undetermined number of encomenderos in New Spain, men who had resided in the Caribbean region prior to the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. In time, royal officials made such grants with conditions: that the encomenderos marry, live in a nearby town, Christianize the natives, and protect and treat them benevolently. These limits were a source of tension between the Crown and encomenderos. Surez Romero. It was based upon the practice of exacting tribute from Muslims and Jews during the Reconquista (Reconquest) of Muslim Spain. ." Deaths, disease, and accusations of ethnocide or genocide, Skepticism toward accusations of genocide, Noble, David Cook. The encomienda lasted from the beginning of the sixteenth century to the seventeenth century. After the Spanish established a colony in the Rio Grande valley in 1598, they seized Indian land and crops and forced Indians to labor, In its most general sense, this word means "estate" or "all worldly possessions of an individual." [8] As the number of natives declined and mining activities were replaced by agricultural activities in the seventeenth century, the hacienda, or large landed estates in which labourers were directly employed by the hacienda owners (hacendados), arose because land ownership became more profitable than acquisition of forced labour. Sevilla: Moz Moya Editor, 1997. In 1519, Velazquez commissioned Hernan Cortez to go to what would soon become New Spain. Enrolling in a course lets you earn progress by passing quizzes and exams. The system was abolished throughout the Spanish colonies in 1791. Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture. 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. They also were empowered to grant lands further afield. He would have been familiar with Reconquista tribute practices. Encyclopedia.com. [8] Like the encomienda, the new repartimiento did not include the attribution of land to anyone, rather only the allotment of native workers. This lucidly shows that the encomienda system was dichotomous to slavery. Although there were never enough such grants to reward all those who felt they deserved one, the encomienda proved a useful institution, from the crown's point of view, in the first two or three decades after the discovery and conquest of the New World kingdoms of Mexico and Peru. Encomiendas devolved from their original Iberian form into a form of "communal" slavery. In the New Laws of 1542, he abolished slavery and ended the encomienda system. The encomienda system began in the early 16th century, and continued till the beginning of the 18th century in most parts of the New World. "Nicols de Ovando" in. Puente Brunke, Jose de la. Far more often, other scholars contend, haciendas developed independently of encomiendas. It refers to a system that was used by Spain in the New World to reward the conquistadors (conquerors). The successful conquistadors and colonial officials used the encomienda system.Under the system, an individual or family was given lands, which generally had Indigenous people living on them already. [5] However, Queen Isabella I of Castile forbade slavery of the native population and deemed the indigenous to be "free vassals of the crown". lessons in math, English, science, history, and more. Natives remained legally free. In Bolivia and Peru, revolutions and influential leaders helped to eliminate the hacienda system from these countries. Raphael Lemkin's History of Genocide and Colonialism, Holocaust Memorial Museum, 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution, Timeline of abolition of slavery and serfdom, Marriage of enslaved people (United States), Population history of indigenous peoples of the Americas, Historiography of Colonial Spanish America, "A History of the Mexican-American People", "Blasco Nez Vela Cronologa histrica", "La encomienda en hispanoamrica colonial", "La rebelin indgena de 1712: los tributarios de Chilo contra la encomienda", https://www.ushmm.org/confront-genocide/speakers-and-events/all-speakers-and-events/raphael-lemkin-history-of-genocide-and-colonialism, "The new book 'The Other Slavery' will make you rethink American history", "Encomienda, Hacienda, and Corregimiento in Spanish America: A Structural Analysis", Spain's American Colonies and the Encomienda System, Independence of Spanish continental Americas, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, northernmost France, Colonial universities in Hispanic America, Law of coartacin (which allowed slaves to buy their freedom, and that of others), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Encomienda&oldid=1142735044, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from July 2022, Articles with dead external links from December 2019, Articles with permanently dead external links, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2023, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Chamberlain, Robert S., "Simpson's the Encomienda in New Spain and Recent Encomienda Studies", This page was last edited on 4 March 2023, at 02:28. It legally allowed the Spaniards to work the Indigenous people literally to death in the fields and mines. Walker, Tamara J. Love, Edgar F. "Negro Resistance to Spanish Rule in Colonial Mexico," Journal of Negro History 52, no. These extra protections were an attempt to avoid the proliferation of irregular claims to slavery. In most Spanish colonies, encomienda ended within a few decades of its introduction. Castilian forces who, in 1492, overthrew Granada, the last Moorish kingdom in Iberia, were granted lands as a reward by the Crowns of Aragon and Castile. That can reasonably be seen as ethnocide. The encomienda system was ended legally in 1720, when the crown attempted to abolish the institution. The Spanish crown still steadfastly refused to grant encomiendas in perpetuity, however, so slowly these lands reverted to the crown. It also did not give encomenderos legal jurisdiction over the natives, although many encomenderos assumed that right. How did the encomienda system work? Get the answers you need, now! Proctor III, Frank T. "Gender and Manumission of Slaves in New Spain,". This right was formally protected by the crown of Castile because the rights of administration in the New World belonged to this crown and not to the Catholic monarchs as a whole.[10]. In Peru and New Spain, local conditions were more favorable, and they lasted considerably longer. Control of Indian labor became the basis of the fortunes of the encomendero elite, who became wealthy by selling provisions to arriving Spanish immigrants and by renting them stores and homes that had been built with the Indian labor they controlled. copyright 2003-2023 Study.com. The natives provided tributes in the form of metals, maize, wheat, pork, and other agricultural products. The spanish monarchy abolished the encomienda system because? All rights reserved. The system of encomiendas was aided by the crown's organizing the indigenous into small harbors known as reducciones, with the intent of establishing new towns and populations. (February 23, 2023). However, the owners of these parcels depended on the repartimiento or mita (rotating draft of forced Indian labor) system that had been instituted after the crown prohibited the use of free personal services by the encomendero around the middle of the sixteenth century. Las Casas wrote extensively about his life in Hispaniola and in Cuba, including the treatment of indigenous people. They were granted the right to compel indigenous people to work their land and to pay tribute. In 1501 Isabella I of Castile declared Native Americans as subjects to the Crown, and so, as Castilians and legal equals to Spanish Castilians. Christopher Minster, Ph.D., is a professor at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador. From the time of the reconquest of Granada (1481-1492) to the introduction of the encomienda system in the Americas was only ten years. The Safavid Empire: Creation, Rulers, Characteristics & Shi'ism. In reality, indigenous people were forced to provide labor. The encomienda was a grant of the right to use labor and exact tribute from a given group of natives conveyed to a person in return for service to the Spanish crown. Tributes were required to be paid in gold. The task of collecting tribute and overseeing the Indian communities was given to the corregidor de indios, a district administrator or governor, who was part of the bureaucratic apparatus established by the crown to regain control of the New World kingdoms from the all-powerful encomenderos. Tannenbaum and the Debates on Slavery, Emancipation, and Race Relations in Latin America,". Along the way, The king bound himself "that the slave trade will be abolished in all the dominions of Spain, May 30, 1820, and that after that date it shall not be lawful for . Himmerich y Valencia, Robert. Identify the key characteristics of the repartimiento system. Ostend Manifesto of 1854 Overview & Purpose | What was the Ostend Manifesto? Encomienda y vida dia-ria entre los indios de Muzo, 15501620. Moya Pons, Frank. 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. The lands were run by cruel overseers and Native chieftains who often demanded extra tribute themselves, making the lives of the Indigenous people even more miserable. Tindall, George Brown & David E. Shi (1984). Heuman, Gad, and Trevor Graeme Burnard, eds. The same title was granted to colonial leaders. It was the landowners (and the mine owners) who eventually displaced the encomenderos at the top of the colonial social pyramid. Journey to the New World. Encyclopedia of Western Colonialism since 1450, Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History, Francisco de Toledo (1515-1584), the fifth Spanish viceroy of Peru, established his reputation in that office as one of the most talented and energet, Antonio de Mendoza (1490-1552) was a Spanish viceroy in Mexico and Peru who inaugurated the system of viceregal administration, which lasted nearly 3, Tribute . [36] Historian Andrs Resndez contends that enslavement in gold and silver mines was the primary reason why the Native American population of Hispaniola dropped so significantly, as the conditions that native peoples were subjected to under enslavement, from forced relocation to hours of hard labour, contributed to the spread of disease. In 1542, the King tried to correct those conditions with the New Laws governing the treatment of indigenous people in Spanish colonies. John Murra, Rolena Adorno & Jorge L. Urioste. To the conquistadors and settlers, the encomiendas were nothing less than their fair and just reward for the risks they had taken during the conquest. The encomenderos did not own the land on which the natives lived. [3] Bobadilla was succeeded by a royal governor, Fray Nicols de Ovando, who established the formal encomienda system. Indigenous people would provide limited tribute and labor, and colonists would provide religious and cultural instruction. Once the encomiendas reverted to the crown, they were overseen by corregidores, royal agents who administered crown holdings. Encomienda was imposed in Hispaniola by Nicolas de. This control and their prestige as first founders and conquerors quickly enriched the majority of encomenderos. Tenochtitlan the Aztec Capital History & Defeat | Who Conquered the Aztecs? From the time of the reconquest of Granada (1481-1492) to the introduction of the encomienda system in the Americas was only ten years. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/spains-american-colonies-encomienda-system-2136545. Lima: IEP, Instituto de Estudios Peruanos, 2000. 177 lessons In return, the encomendero was responsible for the well-being of the enslaved people and was to see to it that they were converted and educated about Christianity. [6] Various versions of the Laws of the Indies from 1512 onwards attempted to regulate the interactions between the settlers and natives. "Spain's American Colonies and the Encomienda System." "From Slaves to Citizens? An encomienda in Peru was a reward offered to each of the men under the leadership of Francisco Pizarro who began the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire in 1532. Furthermore, anyone who abused Indigenous people or who had participated in the conquistador civil wars could lose their encomiendas. The system was formally abolished in 1720, but had lost effectiveness much earlier. From the Spanish perspective, encomienda contributed to an enormous increase in wealth, thus Spain becoming a global power. The system did not entail any direct land tenure by the encomendero; native lands were to remain in the possession of their communities. In reality, tribute and labor demands went well beyond established limits. The Spanish Crown employed encomienda to encourage colonization. Population Collapse: Aztec Smallpox Victims. in the sixteenth century when it abolished slavery under the 1542 New Laws. encomienda, in Spains American and Philippine colonies, legal system by which the Spanish crown attempted to define the status of the indigenous population. These were codified in the Laws of Burgos of 1512 and again in the New Laws of 1542. To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member. The surviving native population, under increasingly Hispanicized chiefs and overlords, then became liable for a tribute payment to a royal official and for periodic, temporary, rotating, and paid labor service to designees of the Spanish crown.