Encomienda (Spanish America)
- Gave Spanish colonists the right to demand tribute and labor from indigenous people in exchange for “protection” and Christian teaching. In practice, it was often brutal forced labor.
- The system was justified by the Requerimiento, a legal document that demanded Indigenous submission to Spanish rule. The Laws of Burgos (1512) and New Laws (1542) attempted to regulate or abolish it, but colonial resistance made enforcement weak.
Yanaconaje (Andes)
- A system where indigenous workers were permanently tied to service for Spanish landowners; less mobile than encomienda but similar in exploitation.
- Originated from Inca servitude practices, but the Spanish expanded it into a hereditary form of labor. Yanaconas lost community ties and land rights, becoming dependent laborers serving Spanish elites and religious institutions.
Mita (Andes)
- Adapted from Inca traditions; required indigenous men to work in mines (especially silver at Potosí) for part of the year under harsh and deadly conditions.
- Indigenous men were compelled to work several months per year in silver mines like Potosí (Bolivia) or Huancavelica (Peru).
- Mortality rates were extremely high due to mercury poisoning and brutal working conditions.
- The mita contributed massively to Spain’s silver exports but caused demographic collapse and social disruptionacross the Andes.
Plantations
- Plantations in the Caribbean and Brazil grew cash crops like sugar, tobacco, and later coffee, using enslaved labor.
- Plantations operated under brutal gang labor systems, with enslaved people working long hours under constant supervision.
- Plantation economies created rigid racial hierarchies and fueled triangular trade linking Europe, Africa, and the Americas.
Organization of Trade
- Colonies were expected to trade only with their mother country. Spain used fleets and convoys (the treasure fleets) to transport gold and silver.
- Illegal smuggling with other European powers (Dutch, English, French) was common, showing limits of colonial control.
- Piracy and privateering (e.g., Francis Drake) constantly threatened Spanish convoys. Colonial merchants frequently engaged in smuggling with rivals like the Dutch and English, exposing the limits of imperial enforcement.
Mercantilism
- Colonies existed to benefit the mother country: providing raw materials and markets for European goods.
- This meant colonies could not freely trade; strict laws tried to keep wealth flowing back to Spain, Portugal, France, or Britain.
- France used mercantilism under Jean-Baptiste Colbert to build a self-sufficient empire.This restrictive system caused resentment among Creoles and merchants, later contributing to calls for independence.
Definition
Mercantilism
An economic policy dominant from the 16th to 18th centuries that viewed colonies as existing solely to enrich the mother country. Colonies supplied raw materials and served as exclusive markets for European goods. This policy aimed to ensure a favorable balance of trade and build national wealth and power, often at the expense of colonial freedom.
Role of Gold, Silver, and Sugar
- Gold and silver (especially silver from Potosí and Zacatecas) made Spain the richest power in the 16th century, while sugar became the “white gold” of Brazil and the Caribbean, driving demand for enslaved labor.
- The massive influx of silver caused European inflation (the “Price Revolution”) and funded Spain’s imperial wars. Sugar profits encouraged the expansion of the Atlantic slave trade, with millions of Africans forcibly transported to the Americas.
Hint
- Always connect economy to empire
- Don’t describe trade or labor systems in isolation. Explain how economic control (through systems like encomienda, mita, or mercantilism) helped maintain political power and imperial dominance, while also planting the seeds of colonial resistance.
- Use comparative evidence
- For stronger essays, compare Spanish, Portuguese, British, and French economic models. For example, Spain’s silver-based empire versus Britain’s plantation and mercantile trade empire. This shows a deeper understanding of regional diversity and continuity.
Common Mistake
- Confusing the labor systems (encomienda vs. mita vs. plantations).
- Ignoring the role of African slavery after indigenous population collapse.
- Treating mercantilism as just trade rules, without linking it to European wealth and colonial resentment.
Exam technique
- Define each labor system clearly before giving examples.
- Always link economy to empire : show how gold, silver, and sugar fueled European power.
- Balance positives and negatives : wealth for Europe vs. exploitation and collapse for indigenous and enslaved peoples.
Case study
The Potosí Silver Mines (1545–1800s)
- Origins and Discovery
- In 1545, a local Indigenous herder discovered a mountain rich in silver ore in what is now Bolivia.
- The Spanish quickly established Potosí, located at 4,000 meters above sea level, which soon became one of the largest cities in the world by the early 1600s, rivaling London and Seville in population and wealth.
- The site was known as the Cerro Rico (“Rich Mountain”), symbolizing both Spanish imperial power and Indigenous suffering.
- Economic Importance to the Spanish Empire
- Potosí supplied over half of the world’s silver in the 16th and 17th centuries, making it the financial engine of the Spanish Empire.
- The silver financed Spain’s European wars, the construction of royal palaces and cathedrals, and the maintenance of colonial bureaucracy.
- Coins minted in Potosí circulated globally, especially through the Manila Galleon trade, linking Latin America to China’s silver-based economy.
- The Crown imposed a royal fifth tax (quinto real), claiming 20 percent of all silver profits, enriching Spain but draining colonial economies.
- Labor and the Mita System
- The Spanish revived and transformed the Inca mita, a rotational labor draft, forcing tens of thousands of Andean men to work in the mines and smelting facilities each year.
- Workers were often taken far from their homes, paid minimally, and subjected to deadly conditions, including toxic mercury exposure used in refining silver.
- Mortality rates were catastrophic; historians estimate that millions died over the colonial period due to overwork, hunger, and disease.
- The population collapse contributed to the demographic catastrophe that devastated Indigenous societies across the Andes.
- Social and Environmental Impact
- A rigid racial and economic hierarchy developed: Spanish mine owners and Creoles controlled production, while Indigenous and African laborers bore the burden.
- The silver boom created a wealthy colonial elite in Lima and Seville, widening class divides.
- Some Indigenous groups fled to remote regions, forming resistant communities to escape mita labor drafts.
- Global and Historical Consequences
- Potosí silver transformed world trade by linking Europe, the Americas, and Asia in a single flow of goods and currency.
- The massive influx of silver caused inflation in Europe (the Price Revolution), destabilizing Spain’s economy and contributing to its eventual imperial decline.
- The mines became a symbol of colonial exploitation, reflecting the economic dependency and inequality that persisted long after independence.
Self review
- Examine the role of labor systems such as encomienda and mita in shaping colonial American economies.
- To what extent did mercantilism benefit European empires at the expense of their colonies?
- Evaluate the economic importance of silver and sugar in the development of the colonial Americas.
