Encomienda

The Encomienda System was a labor system established by the Spanish Crown during the 1500s, rewarding Spanish explorers and military personnel with land in the New World and the labor of indigenous peoples. Its purpose was to manage land for economic gain and survival, establishing a social hierarchy that mixed ethnicities, including mestizos, mulattos, peninsulares, and creoles. Race and ethnicity played a significant role in determining the treatment of laborers within this system.