Unit 1.5- Labor, Slavery and Caste in the Spanish Colonial System

Question 1

What occurred in the encomienda system?

Answer 1

In the encomienda system, Spanish colonial economies marshaled Native American labor to support plantation-based agriculture and extract precious metals and other resources.

Question 2

What did European traders partner with some West African groups for?

Answer 2

European traders partnered with some West African groups who practiced slavery to forcibly extract enslaved laborers for the Americas. The Spanish imported enslaved Africans to labor in plantation agriculture and mining.

Question 3

What system did the Spanish develop?

Answer 3

The Spanish developed a caste system that incorporated, and carefully defined the status of, the diverse population of Europeans, Africans and Native Americans in their empire.