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Difficulty: MediumSpanish Encomienda and Labor Systems

"The native people of these islands have so declined in numbers due to their weakness and the diseases that have spread among them that they can no longer sustain the works of the fields or the extraction of gold from the mines. Many have fled to the mountains, and others have died of the smallpox. Thus, the settlers have turned to importing Negro slaves from the Portuguese ports of Africa, who are of stronger constitution and can endure the heavy labor of the sugar estates and mines under our command."

—Report from a Spanish colonial official in Santo Domingo, c. 1540s

Which of the following developments in the Spanish colonies during the sixteenth century was a direct result of the trends described in the excerpt?

  1. The transition from relying on coerced Indigenous labor to importing enslaved Africans.Answer
  2. B
    The introduction of American smallpox to Europe through the Columbian Exchange.
  3. C
    The widespread adoption of indentured servitude contracts for European laborers.
  4. D
    The conversion of the encomienda system into a voluntary labor contract based on land ownership.

Answer

The transition from relying on coerced Indigenous labor to importing enslaved Africans
The correct answer is correct because the severe decline of the Indigenous population due to epidemics and overwork, combined with their resistance (such as fleeing), led Spanish colonists to seek alternative labor sources, resulting in the growth of the transatlantic slave trade and the importation of enslaved Africans to replace the declining encomienda labor force.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the stimulus to identify the key issues described by the Spanish official.
The official describes a decline in the Indigenous population due to disease and weakness, their resistance (fleeing), and the subsequent importation of African slaves to replace them.
This establishes the historical context of labor shortages and the transition to alternative labor systems.
2
Evaluate the choices to determine which historical change is directly caused by these issues.
The importation of enslaved Africans directly addresses the labor shortages resulting from the decline of the Indigenous population under the encomienda system.
This links the cause (demographic collapse and Native flight) directly to the effect (growth of the African slave trade).

Key Concept

The transition from the encomienda system to West African chattel slavery due to demographic collapse and Native resistance.
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Spanish Encomienda and Labor Systems

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