Repartimiento

Q: Was the repartimiento system important?

The repartimiento system was important because it allowed Spanish settlers to use cheap labour for agriculture and mining. The system had a negative effect on indigenous people who were forcibly relocated to work their period of labour.

Q: Was the repartimiento system slavery?

The repartimiento system was not slavery since labourers could not be sold and they received a small wage. The practical treatment of labourers, though, was little different from the experience of slaves.

Q: What is the difference between the encomienda and repartimiento systems?

Neither the encomienda nor repartimiento systems were related to land and both involved forced labour. The difference was that in the repartimiento system labourers received a small wage and only worked for a short period of time.

Mark Cartwright

Repartimiento

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Definition

The repartimiento system was a distribution of rights to Spanish colonialists and municipalities, which allowed them to extract forced but low-paid labour from local communities in conquered territories. Designed to replace the inefficient encomienda system, the repartimiento system was eventually only used for crucial industries such as food and cloth production and precious metal mining.

More about: Repartimiento

Timeline

c. 1575 - 1820
The repartimiento system of forced labour is practised in the Spanish Empire.

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