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.

He finds it plausible that Coronado could have built a Spanish empire of encomiendas in the American Midwest.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 28, 2026

But the land was fertile, and the Native Americans told of even richer soil to the east, ideal for encomiendas, as large Spanish-ruled plantations exploiting indigenous labor were called.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 28, 2026

As a reward for their service, the Spanish government gave some Tlaxcalans encomiendas, and the tribe enjoyed a far better position in the Spanish Empire than many other Native American groups.

From Textbooks • Dec. 14, 2022

Technically, the conquistadors were not supposed to enslave the Indians they controlled, but they did confine them to private estates called encomiendas and forced them to work as a form of tribute.

From Textbooks • Jan. 18, 2018

Scarcely had Tápia been ejected when Avila returned with tentative authority for Cortés, subject to royal approval, to continue his conquests and to grant encomiendas.

From The Colonization of North America 1492-1783 by Bolton, Herbert Eugene