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.
Cantinflas trabaja para la policía, y se le encomienda la difícil misión de encontrar un diamante que ha sido robado.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2020
Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas, who grew up on Hispaniola and became the bishop of Chiapas, Mexico, denounced the use of violence and the encomienda system to force the conversion of Indians.
From Textbooks • Jan. 18, 2018
Under the encomienda system, some American Indians had to work for the Spanish in the gold and silver mines.
From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2012
In their effort to exploit the land for its precious resources, the Spanish forced Native Americans to work within a system known as encomienda.
From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2012
Hundreds of monasteries had been established, especially wherever there were Indians in encomienda.
From The Colonization of North America 1492-1783 by Bolton, Herbert Eugene
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.
