The term “encomienda” refers to a system used during the Spanish colonization of the Americas, where Spanish settlers were granted the right to extract labor and tribute from Indigenous people in exchange for providing protection and religious instruction. Here’s how you can use it in a sentence:
Historical context: “The encomienda system allowed Spanish settlers to exploit Indigenous labor while claiming to offer them protection and religious guidance.”
Critical analysis: “Many historians argue that the encomienda system was a form of legalized enslavement that devastated Indigenous communities.”
Descriptive usage: “Under the encomienda, local leaders were often forced to provide laborers to work in mines and plantations.”