"Regarding the island of Hispaniola, the native peoples have almost entirely disappeared, having been consumed by the great sicknesses and the intolerable burdens of labor in the gold mines. To preserve the royal revenues and sustain the sugarcane plantations, the Spanish settlers have begun to purchase laborers brought from the Portuguese trade in West Africa. These new laborers are far more resistant to the diseases that have decimated the natives, and they possess the strength required for the heavy work of the mills."
— Report by a Spanish crown inspector on colonial agriculture, 1530s
The developments described in the excerpt most directly contributed to which of the following shifts in the Spanish colonial labor system?
- The transition from using coerced Native American labor to relying on enslaved African laborAnswer
- BThe widespread recruitment of European indentured servants to work on colonial plantations
- CThe establishment of a voluntary system of wage labor for Native American miners
- DThe export of native agricultural crops to West Africa in exchange for free labor
Answer
The transition from using coerced Native American labor to relying on enslaved African labor
The transition to enslaved African labor was a direct consequence of the rapid decline of the Native American population due to European diseases and the harsh labor of the encomienda system. To maintain the extraction of resources and agricultural production, Spanish colonists increasingly imported enslaved Africans.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Transition from the encomienda system to African slave labor due to the demographic collapse of the indigenous population.
Estimated Time:50s