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

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

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

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

The mita alone, especially the labor in the mines, has swept away four times as many Indians as all the other causes combined.

From Travels in Peru, on the Coast, in the Sierra, Across the Cordilleras and the Andes, into the Primeval Forests by Ross, Thomasina