encomienda
Americannoun
plural
encomiendas-
the system, instituted in 1503, under which a Spanish soldier or colonist was granted a tract of land or a village together with its Indian inhabitants.
-
the land or village together with its inhabitants.
Etymology
Origin of encomienda
1800–10; < Spanish: charge, commission, recommendation. See en- 1, commend
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The missions were relatively autonomous from Spanish rulers — intentionally so to protect the Guarani from the abuses of the encomienda leaders who wanted them as a source of labor.
From US News
Moreover, “the encomiendas are ruined,” while the natives are not instructed in religion, and are hostile to the Spaniards.
From Project Gutenberg
Within a single year’s time most of the coast country of Luzon had been traversed, important positions seized, and the inhabitants portioned out in encomiendas.
From Project Gutenberg
The country was divided into great tracts called "encomiendas," which, with the Indians that inhabited them, were distributed among the settlers.
From Project Gutenberg
This provision contained the essence of the encomienda system, which was designed to protect and civilize the native, as well as to exploit him.
From Project Gutenberg
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
