mita

American  

[mee-tuh] / ˈmi tə /

noun

1. a colonial system in Peru by which the Spanish government required Indians to perform periodic forced labor, especially in the mines.

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Etymology

Origin of mita

First recorded in 1720–30; from South American Spanish, from Quechua mit'a literally, “turn, time”

Example Sentences

The mita imposed by Viceroy Toledo in Alto Peru caused demographic collapse, earning the hill in Potosí a Quechua name meaning “the mountain that eats men”.

From The Guardian • Mar. 21, 2016

Potosí was the first city of capitalism, for it supplied the primary ingredient of capitalism – money Jack Weatherford Alongside the mita, Toledo’s other reforms were the first serious attempt to organise this boom city.

From The Guardian • Mar. 21, 2016

Each peasant also worked for the Inca ruler a number of days per month on public works projects, a requirement known as the mita.

From Textbooks • Dec. 30, 2014

"Yasu saw the bird" is translated as "Yasu-wa tori-o mita" and "The bird saw Yasu" is translated as "Tori-wa Yasu-o mita."

From Scientific American • Sep. 17, 2013

Our word matter, or pus, is from the Arabic madda; our word mature is originally from the Chaldee mita.

From Atlantis : the antediluvian world by Donnelly, Ignatius