space.template.Encomenda

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 * Historical Data

=Encomienda=

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: [|navigation], [|search] The **//encomienda//**[|[1]] system was a [|trusteeship] labor system employed by the Spanish crown during the [|Spanish colonization of the Americas] and the [|Philippines] in order to consolidate their conquests. [|Conquistadors] were granted trusteeship over the [|indigenous people] they conquered, in an expansion of familiar medieval [|feudal] institutions, notably the [|commendation ceremony], which had been established in [|New Castile] during the [|Reconquista]. The //encomiendo// system differed from the developed form of feudalism 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 of Castile because at the beginning of the Conquest most of the rights of administration in the new lands went to the Castilian Queen.[|[2]] These were laws that the Crown attempted to impose in all of the [|Spanish colonies] in the [|Americas] and in the [|Philippines]. The maximum size of an //encomienda// was three hundred Indians, though it rarely reached near to that number. The //encomenderos// had the authorization to tax the people under their care and to summon them for labor, 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 little respect that the Europeans had for the Amerindians, however, helped corrupt the system rather quickly. So, what was supposed to assist in the evangelization of the Natives and in the creation of a stable society became a blatant tool of oppression. The Crown established the //encomienda// system in Hispaniola in May 1493. And while it reserved the right of revoking an //encomienda// from the hands of an unjust //encomendero,// it rarely did.

In the papal bull //[|Inter caetera]// (1493, the Borgia [|Pope Alexander VI] had granted the western newly found lands to the Castilian Crown, on the condition that it evangelize these new lands. "...By this he allocated everything discovered by Columbus to the Crown of Castile, on the condition that the monarchs set about propagating the Christian faith there, and provided the lands concerned…"[|[3]] Because the ultimate title of the Amerindian's land lay with the Castilian Crown[|[4]], the system in the New World differed in that it did not entail any direct land tenure by the //encomendero//. Amerindian lands were to remain in their possession, a right that was formally protected by the Crown of Castile's initial title.[|[5]]. These were laws that the Crown attempted to impose in all of the [|Spanish colonies] in the [|Americas] and in the [|Philippines]. hide]
 * ==Contents==
 * [|1] [|Encomiendas in the New World]
 * [|2] [|Breakdown of the encomiendas]
 * [|3] [|See also]
 * [|4] [|References] ||

[[|edit]] Encomiendas in the New World
The Crown established the first //encomienda// in the New World on [|Hispaniola] in 1493[|[6]]. The maximum size of an //encomienda// was three hundred Amerindians, although they were usually much smaller. The //encomenderos// were similar to feudal lords in that they were entitled to demand tribute from the people under their care in the form of specie, kind, or corvee, but differed in that they were not given juridical authority. In exchange for the right to collect this tribute, the //encomenderos// were charged with maintaining order through an established military and providing instruction in Catholicism. As European disregard for the Amerindians led to widespread corruption and abuses, the system that was intended to assist in the evangelization of the Natives and the establishment of a stable society became a force for oppression and enslavement. Although the Crown reserved the right to revoke an //encomienda// from the hands of an unjust //encomendero,// it rarely did. However, these distinctions were not easily enforced over great distances, and the //encomenderos// ruthlessly exploited the people under their ostensible care. Using their influence and power as //encomenderos// and land owners of the [|plantations] that existed side-by-side with the //encomiendas,// they increased taxes, seized more lands from the natives, and ultimately forced many Amerindians into a quasi-[|slavery][|[7]]. 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 rewards for men who brought pagans to accept Christianity and Spanish rule. The conquistadors scrupulously[|[8]] adhered to the Spanish law of conquest by reading the //[|Requerimiento]//, which ordered defiant Indians, in Spanish, to accept Spanish rule and Christian conversion immediately. If the Indians ignored this order, they deserved the harsh punishments of a “just war.” The requerimiento was, therefore, a justification of conquest on account of being denied right of way.

[[|edit]] Breakdown of the encomiendas
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. Another equally important factor was the scrupulousness of the Spanish laws governing the encomienda system, which made it difficult for mestizos or people with no clear Amerindian lineage to be liable to encomienda service. The breakdown of tribal lineages coupled with European intermarriage undermined the labor pool available. 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 Núñez Vela. 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. It must be noted, however, that the breakdown of allyus and geographical relocation of entire communities was a domination practice already put in place by the ruling [|Inca] class in order to control a vast population. The Spanish simply continued the practice. The reality of this system, arbitrary as it was, was complex and never one-sided in terms of ethnicity. Among the principal social actors interested in the continuation of the encomiendas one could usually find the pre-Incan tribal chiefs or //curacas// themselves, eager to be assigned encomiendas. 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// system was succeeded by the [|hacienda] system as land ownership became more profitable than acquirement of labor force[|[9]] The //encomienda// was abolished in 1791. The **encomienda system** was introduced to the Philippines when Legazpi started to apportion lands to Spaniards who helped enrich Spain. In short, encomienda was a reward ofthe King of Spain to the Spaniards who did good in the name of Spain. It did not mean that the spaniards owned the land because taxes came from Filipinos.