The encomienda system:
A) kept the Portuguese out of Mexico
B) allowed privileged Spanish landowners to control Indian villages
C) benefited the Native American populations of Spanish America
D) allowed Mayan and Incan leaders to become very wealthy through the labor of their people
E) was replicated by the English in their later New World colonies

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The encomienda system was a system of labor developed during the Spanish colonization of the Americas. It allowed privileged Spanish landowners (encomenderos) to control Indian villages and exploit the labor of the Native American population. It was a form of slavery that caused much suffering and led to the decline of the Native American population. The system was not beneficial to the Native Americans and was not replicated by the English in their later New World colonies.

The Encomienda System