encomienda?

Question

history

Answer 1

read on!

Answer 2

The encomienda system was a trusteeship system used during the Spanish colonization of the Americas, whereby conquistadors were granted trusteeship over the indigenous people they conquered, in an expansion of familiar feudal institutions that had been established in New Castile during the Reconquista. The system differed in that it did not entail any direct land tenure by the encomendero; Indian lands were to remain in their possession, a right that was formally protected by the Crown (Scott). These laws were imposed in all of the Spanish colonies in the Americas and in the Philippines. The encomenderos were authorized to tax the people under their care and to summon them for labour, but they were not given juridical authority. In return the encomenderos were expected to maintain order through an established military and to provide teachings in Catholicism. The encomienda system was established by the Crown of Castile in May 1493. The option of revoking an encomienda that was reserved to the Crown was rarely invoked.

However, fine distinctions were not easily enforced over great distances; the encomenderos ruthlessly exploited the people already living there. They used their influence and power as encomenderos and land owners of the plantations that existed side-by-side with the encomiendas to seize more lands from the natives, increase taxes, and ultimately force the natives into slavery. They reasoned that riches were wasted on pagans and more properly bestowed upon Christian subjects of the Spanish king. Bernal Diaz concisely summarized his motives as "to serve God and His Majesty, to give light to those who were in darkness, and to grow rich, as all men desire to do." The conquistadors regarded plunder, slaves, and tribute as the just deserts for men who forced pagans to accept Christianity and Spanish rule. After all, the conquistadors scrupulously adhered to the Spanish law of conquest by reading the requerimiento, which ordered defiant Indians immediately to accept Spanish rule and Christian conversion. If the Indians ignored this order, they deserved the harsh punishments of a “just war.” This exploitation of the indigenous natives and the other negative influences of the European presence of encomenderos were some of the factors that led to the breakdown of the entire encomienda system.

The downfall of the encomienda system began when Blasco Núñez Vela, the first viceroy of Peru, tried to enforce the New Laws. Many of the encomenderos were unwilling to comply with the New Laws and soon revolted against Vela.

Eventually, under pressure of the Roman Catholic Church, a modification of the encomienda system was created, called the repartimiento.

Other problems of the encomienda system in Peru occurred due to the breaking up of extended families, or ayllus, which brought an end to their economic system of vertical exchanges. Not only this impaired the encomienda system, but so also did the epidemic diseases brought to America by the Europeans. These diseases, such as the plague and smallpox, killed a large percentage of the indigenous population because they had no natural defenses against them.

The encomienda system was essential to the Spanish government sustaining their control over North, Central and South America, because it was the first major organizational law instituted on a continent where disease, war and turmoil reigned. The encomienda was abolished in 1791.

The etymology of encomienda and encomendero lies in the Spanish verb encomendar, "to entrust".

Answer 3

an encomienda is a grant given to some spaniard from his services to the spanish empire from the 1550's to the 1800's. it applies to the philippines & latin america at that time. got my point?

Answer 4

oh boy, it's in almost every philippine history book, try to browse some pages and you'll see it there

happy reading!