The Encomienda System: Unraveling the Labor and Social Dynamics of Colonial Rule

During the 15th century, the frequency of plague outbreaks went down and the entire continent went into an ero of higher artistic and scientific development. The printing press made knowledge more widespread. The parliament in England created common law which gave protection to each citizen that could not be overridden by the King himself. There was a centralized government and a reliable taxation system. This combination of cheap labor, industrialization, organized government and a lack of cheap labor led to the European search for more resources through colonization.

There was much scientific development going on in Europe in terms of science. There were methods of tracking distance, time, water depth, and direction. All of these developments led to an ability to be able to travel along greater distances. Before, sailors would try and sail along coasts, but with an introduction of these items to navigation, sailors could travel out into open sea for exploration. Portuguese Prince Henry, the Navigator, was the first European to explore Africa. He tried to circumnavigate Africa to find an ocean route to the East Indies, where all the trade was. Later, he sent an expedition to Madeira and there he tried to secure the Canary Islands.

Along the western and eastern coasts, Cape Bojador and Cape Blanco were taken into control. A fortress was built in Mauritania and trading was conducted there for wheat and cloth, gold and slaves. Most of the slaves that were picked up from Africa were taken to Madeira and distributed from there. The first model of colonization developed with the traditional conquering and slavery. The residents of the newly conquered area would be overpowered by the army and forced to work. "Conquer, occupy and posses" the "heathens and infidels" was the motto of this genocide filled model. The second model involved the Church. Christianizing the citizens and having them believe that being docile will have them be rewarded in a later life enabled those who were enslaved to work better and more willingly.

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Caribbean prior to the encounter between the two civilizations. Some of the major pre colonial civilizations living in Latin America are the slave owning Aztecs, Mayas and the Incas. Some less major civilizations were the Pueblos, who descended from the Anasazi, and the peaceful agricultural cultures of the Acoma, Zuni and Hopi. Early Spanish expeditions led to permanent Spanish outposts during the founding of North America. Cities such as Saint Augustine and Santa Fe have been named under the Spanish influence along with countless rivers, mountains and towns.

Also, there was a large Spanish speaking population, also known as a Latino/mestizo population, which existed continuously in specific regions in the U.S. since that time. Spain followed the word of Pope Alexander VI, who said that they should not only grab land, but convert people into Christianity. Native Americans were regularly baptized. Priests even performed marriage ceremonies between the Spaniards and the native women, which led to a new middle class race called the mestizo race.Money was requested by the Virginia Company to start a college and a parish for the natives. The Church of England collected money, but no parish or college was ever made. The Virginia Company directed the money to their own ends. Similar things happened with the New England Company and in Rhode Island.

The encomienda is a labor system that was made by the Spanish royals during colonization. In the encomienda system, a person was given a specific number of Native Americans for who they were responsible for. The person in charge had to teach the Native Americans the Spanish language and convert them. In return for these services, they could get paid by the Native Americans with stuff like the Natives labor, gold, corn, wheat or chickens. There was a tradition of racial mixing in Spain which made it socially acceptable for the Spaniards to engage in sexual unions with the Africans and the Native Americans. Even though racial mixing was present, that did not mean there was equality. Whites were always superior to any other race present.

After the Haitian revolution, European royalty became afraid of a similar revolt, so they banned all intermarriage between the whites and free blacks and mulattos. This did not stop illegitimate marriages and illegitimate births from occurring. A colony is a territory under the political control of a state. I can also be a territory that is ruled by another state but in certain cases can be run independently. An empire is an extensive group of states and multiple ethnic groups under the rule of a single monarch or oligarchy.

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