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Difficulty: EasySpanish Encomienda and Labor Systems

Read the excerpt below and answer the question.

'We order that the Indians be settled in towns near the Spanish estates... so that they may be taught the Catholic faith and perform labor in the fields and mines...'
— Royal Ordinance, Laws of Burgos, 1512

The labor system described in the excerpt most directly reflects which of the following Spanish colonial practices?

  1. Extracting wealth from agricultural and mineral resources using coerced Indigenous labor.Answer
  2. B
    Distributing direct land ownership to Indigenous families to establish European-style private farms.
  3. C
    Creating voluntary contracts for Indigenous workers to serve as temporary indentured servants.
  4. D
    Unifying all Indigenous societies under a single, standardized legal system run by native leaders.

Answer

Extracting wealth from agricultural and mineral resources using coerced Indigenous labor.
The correct option is correct because the Laws of Burgos of 1512 regulated the encomienda system, which was established by the Spanish Crown to extract wealth from the New World through coerced Indigenous labor in mines and fields, while maintaining nominal goals of converting Indigenous populations to Catholicism.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the stimulus and identify the main subject of the decree.
The decree dictates that Indigenous peoples must be relocated to live near Spanish estates to be Christianized and perform agricultural and mining labor.
Understanding the core directive of the document is necessary to identify the colonial system it describes.
2
Associate the system described in the decree with Spanish colonial history.
This system of coerced labor and conversion is the encomienda system.
Connecting the source's details to historical terminology helps identify its primary function.
3
Evaluate the choices to find which one accurately describes the purpose of the encomienda system.
The practice of using coerced Indigenous labor to extract agricultural and mineral wealth directly matches the text's reference to working in fields and mines.
Matching the historical definition of the encomienda to the correct option provides the final solution.

Key Concept

Spanish Encomienda and Labor Systems
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Spanish Encomienda and Labor Systems

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