USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -encomienda, in Spain’s American and Philippine colonies, legal system by which the Spanish crown attempted to define the status of the indigenous population. It was based upon the practice of exacting tribute from Muslims and Jews during the Reconquista (“Reconquest”) of Muslim Spain.

Detailed explanation-2: -The encomienda (Spanish pronunciation: [eŋkoˈmjenda] ( listen)) was a Spanish slave labour system that rewarded conquerors with the labour of conquered non-Christian peoples. The labourers, in theory, were provided with benefits by the conquerors for whom they laboured, including military protection and education.

Detailed explanation-3: -The purpose of the encomienda system in the Spanish Empire was to provide an incentive for conquistadors to conquer new territories and to provide free labour to extract wealth from the colonies. For the Catholic Church, the system permitted indigenous peoples to be exposed to Christianity.

Detailed explanation-4: -The word encomienda comes from the Spanish word encomendar, meaning “to entrust.” The encomienda system had been used in feudal Spain during the reconquest and had survived in some form ever since. In the Americas, the first encomiendas were handed out by Christopher Columbus in the Caribbean.