Under the encomienda system,
A) the Catholic Church established schools and hospitals in Indian villages.
B) individual conquistadors were granted tributary Indian villages from which they could collect money and goods.
C) Spanish Jesuits undertook the task of converting Indians to the Christian faith.
D) prisoners from Spain were sent to work in New World silver mines for periods ranging from seven years to life.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The encomienda system was a Spanish colonial policy that granted conquistadors the right to collect tribute from Native American villages in exchange for their protection and Christianization. This allowed the conquistadors to amass wealth and power, while the Native Americans were forced to work in various ways for the Spanish, including through forced labor, agriculture, and mining. The system was extremely exploitative, and contributed to the decline of Native American populations in the Americas.

Under the Encomienda System