sep 1, 1501 - Encomienda system put in place

Description:

When Ovando arrived in Haiti, the natives were in revolt against the Spanish. However, the Spanish crown had established that the natives were to be treated as Spanish citizens and not as slaves. To solve these problems, he implemented the encomienda system.

The encomienda system involved distributing sections of land (encomiendas) to Spaniards (encomenderos), and assigning a set number of natives to each encomenda. These natives were required to pay tribute to the Spaniards in the form of labour, goods or both. The encomenderos were expected to protect the natives from warring tribes, teach them Spanish and how to be Christians.

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