The Encomienda System

Throughout the Colonial Latin American history labor regimes changed over time affecting many indigenous people as well as Africans. Indigenous people were forced by the Spaniards to work their land that led them to discover gold and other resources that were able to generate large profits and benefits to the economy in Spain. In the other hand , Africans were forced by the Portuguese to do labor and they contribute to the economic drove in Brazil since they were able to produce sugar. Labor was an advantage to the colonial projects in the Americas because it attributed to the economic growth of Iberian Crowns. The imposition of Labor System on the indigenous people and Africans was an excuse from both Spaniards and Portuguese to exploit them
It also allowed the Spanish to demand labor from the Indians, which worked in their lands, gold mines and they also pay the encomenderos tribute (Martin, and Wasserman 93). This encomienda system was a symbolization of the indigenous people exploitation and oppression (Martin, and Wasserman 93). The encomenderos were in charge of the indigenous people, making them work hard in order to find the resources needed, and they even got tributes from the Indians, and they knew how to get profits off of them (Martin, and Wasserman 99). Indigenous people in order to escape exploitation some of them run away, or other committed suicide, and some fake sickness (Martin, and Wasserman
As Conrad explained in his writings, slaves underwent cruel punishments, depending on their skin color and were the came from. Africans slaves were severely punished by their masters, and they were treated like if they were animals. People of African descent did not resist colonial systems, and they run away to escape the harsh treatment they were facing at that time (Conrad 59). Many of African slaves were living in fear of being killed by their masters, some of them rebel but many of them such as the rural slaves were able to wait and make some money to buy their freedom (Conrad 61). Those who did not rebel fear their master and the consequences of the punishments they were going to receive (Conrad 61). Religion for example, was a factor because slaves believe if they rebel they were going to hell. Another factor was hegemony of the Iberians over the slaves, because slaves believe they beneath the Europeans in some way (Conrad