42 Atlantic African, American, and European Backgrounds to Contact, Commerce, and Enslavementin the Americas. Such systems were practiced in Puerto
Rico, in Mexico aft er Cortes conquest of the Aztecs, in
Peru aft er Pizarro’s conquest of the Incan Empire, and in
New Mexico. Th e encomienda system did not cross over
into Florida, as it had fallen out of favor with the Crown
by that point of settlement.
Th e encomienda gradually lost eff ectiveness due to the
greatly reduced Native American population and change of
focus from mining commodities to sustained agriculture.
Th e encomienda was nonhereditary and as the number of
encomenderos decreased, the population was reclaimed
by the Crown. Pockets of this transitional labor system
survived in the Platine region and in Paraguay until the
late 1700s.
See also: de Las Casas, Bartolomé; Hispaniola; ReconquistaMichael CokerBibliography
Elliott, J. H. Imperial Spain 1469 – 171 6. London: Penguin Books,
1963.
Gibson, Charles. Spain in America. New York: Harper Torch-
books, 1966.
Keith, Robert. Encomienda, Hacienda and Corregimiento in Span-
ish America: A Structural Analysis. Durham, NC: Duke Uni-
versity Press, 1971.
Simpson, Lesley Byrd. Th e Encomienda in New Spain. Berkeley:
University of California Press, 1950.
We b e r, D a v i d. Th e Spanish Frontier in North America. New Haven,
CT: Yale University Press, 1992.Estévan
Estévan (ca. 1500–1539), also referred to as Esteban, Es-
teban the Arab, Estevanillo, Estevanico, or Estevanico de
Dorante, appears to have been born in the city of Azamor in
Morocco. While accounts vary as to whether he was a will-
ing participant or enslaved by a Spaniard on the expedition,
Estévan joined the expedition of Narvaez when he was 28 to
30 years old, sailing from San Lucas de Barrameda, Spain,
in 1527. Th e expedition began with 506 participants who
landed on the coast of Florida. Aft er a period of aimless
wandering and skirmishes with the local native peoples, the
Spaniards dwindled to 240 people.
Along with the remaining explorers, Estévan set sail
across the Gulf of Mexico where the group was beset with
more catastrophes and only four survived the journey—
three Spaniards and Estévan. (Some sources identify allPerhaps the most pivotal provision involved the spiritual
welfare of the Native Americans. Properly indoctrinating
the “savages” into the Christian church was the cornerstone
of the encomienda system in the New World. Native Ameri-
cans were to promptly abandon their ancient worship, at-
tend services in the Catholic Church on a regular basis, and
be properly baptized. Th is lent the encomienda a moral im-
perative to salve over the frequent abuses and excesses.
Th e Native Americans were to be considered free sub-
jects, but it was necessary to employ their labor for farming
or mining for the good of the commonwealth. Any returns
for their labor was at the discretion of the Spanish. Mea-
sures to quell the inevitable dissent included a provision
that no native was allowed to bear arms and another that
prevented “Moors”—a term used to describe Berber Mus-
lims, Jews, heretics, or reconciliados (people reconciled to
the church)—from coming into the Indies.
A royal missive from Queen Isabella formalized much
of Ovando’s earlier instructions, stating that the Indian
inhabitants were “free and not servile,” that their spiritual
education was paramount, and they were to work the fi elds
and toil in the mines on behalf of the Spanish in exchange
for wages determined by the local government. Th e result
was a brutal system that was slavery in all but name and
which decimated the native population.
Dominican missionaries, moved by the suff ering of the
natives, pleaded with Ferdinand for better treatment of his
subjects. A council made up partly of theologians comprised
the fi rst codes of Native American law in 1512–1513, the
Laws of Burgos. Th ese 35 articles were to provide a more hu-
mane and Christian life for the natives. Th eir plight was later
taken up by a Dominican convert named Bartolomé de Las
Casas. Las Casas submitted a proposal that advocated free-
dom for the natives and the abolishment of the encomienda.
Under pressure to revise the system for humanitarian
concerns, but mainly to reign in the power of the encomen-
deros, Charles I in 1520 ruled that the institution was to be
phased out of the imperial arsenal; existing encomiendas
were allowed to continue but if vacated they were not to be
reassigned. Despite these changes Charles was compelled to
revise the Laws of Burgos in 1542. Ultimately, any eff orts at
serious reform of this troubled system was hindered by the
revenue generated.
Th e success of the encomienda paved the way for
other exploitative labor systems such as debt peonage and
the hacienda system. Th e encomienda, or one of its deriv-
ative off shoots, accompanied future Spanish colonization