The Encomienda system

What is the Encomienda System?

A system where groups of amerindians (in particularly the tainos) were distrubted among the early Spanish settlers,who arrived in the Americas, called Encomenderos.

When was the Encomienda System created?

May 1493 by the Spanish Crown in Castile,Spain.

Why was is introduced?

At the beginning, the encomienda system was introduced with the intention of looking after the welfare of the natives, to educate them as well as to teach them Christianity.

What did it turn out to be?

It turnt out to be a way to control,enslave and exploit (abuse) the tainos.

What was the need to create the encomienda system?

It arose out of the belief that the indigenous were pagans who were in need of Christianity to be civilized.

The encomienda system therefore aimed to do great things such as

1. Provide protection for the Tainos

2. Educate them

3. Convert them

How was the Encomienda system supposed to work?

The Tainos were to work for wages and be provided with the necessary requirements for life.

How did it actually work?

Instead the Tainos were forced to work without pay, in mines,fields and on spanish farms and were to provide food produce and other supplies for their Encomenderos.

What else did the Tainos have to do other than work without pay etc.

The tainos also had to pay tributes to their Encomenderos which were in the forms of gold,cotton,cloth,beans,salt,honey,peppers and maize

Ways the Tainos were ill-treated by the Tainos

They would amputate them for entertainment

2. Carry out quarters

3. Trampled their crops

4. Women were raped

5. Shot at their feet to make them dance

6. Didn't get paid

7. Would kill the ones that did not have enough gold.

who was the spanish priest that spoke out about the ill treatment of the Tainos?

Bartholomew de Las Casas

The 3 g's Christopher Columbus came to the Caribbean for

1. God

2. Glory

3. Gold

When did the system end?

the early 1540's

why did the system end?

It ended after several Dominican missionaries started protesting against the abuse of the indigenous people.

The most important spanish priest who was protesting?

Bartholomew de Las Casas

where was Bartholomew de Las Casas from?

Hispaniola

What was Bartholomew de Las Casas's nickname?

protector of the Indians

Reasons the system ended:

The ill treatment of tainos led to an increase in the death rate which resulted in a drastic reduction of the Taino population.

humanitarians protested against the system. One group in particular was the Dominican friars.

European diseases eg. Small pox helped to complete the total destruction of these indigenous people.

In 1512-13 the Laws of Burgos and in 1542 the new laws were introduced which forbade the enslavement of the Tainos as property.

The repartimiento System

The first labor system

Why were the laws of 1492 not really effective

most of the taino population has already died out