Definition of "encomienda" [encomienda]

• In a special use, an estate in Spanish America, comprising land and Indian inhabitants, granted to one of the early military adventurers. (noun)

The Century Dictionary (Public Domain)

• "This experience launched Las Casas on his lifelong crusade against mistreatment of Indians, as exemplified by two institutions known as the encomienda and the repartimiento."
• "The Indians who survived were enslaved under an economic system known as encomienda in which the conquistadors were authorized to occupy Indian lands, tax the inhabitants, and force them to perform labor."
• "After the Spanish conquest, a system known as the encomienda was established in Mexico, with the objective of repartitioning the indigenous land and its inhabitants."