feb 29, 1524 - 4. Encomienda

Description:

Encomienda was a Spanish labor system. It rewarded conquistadors with land and native people to be used as slaves. This system was used at the beginning, but the Spanish shifted to using Africans as slaves because diseases were causing the natives to die. In the encomienda system the Spanish conquistadors were to try and convert the natives to Christianity. The system was created in order to meet the demand for workers in Spanish mining expeditions.
AP Key Concept 1.2, III