Discuss the economic impact of mita and encomienda in Spanish America.

The question requires that candidates offer a considered and balanced review of the economic impact of mita and encomienda in Spanish America. Candidates may discuss the change the mita system underwent from its Andean origins to the Spanish system that exploited the silver mines and mills at Potosí, mobilizing over 11 000 natives each year and enriching Spaniards and the crown. Candidates may also discuss the economic impact the mita had in forcing indigenous peoples to participate in the colonial economy, subsidizing its production through low wages. Candidates may discuss that while some villages resisted the obligation, others paid colonial administrators to hire substitutes. However, most of them suffered depopulation since the mita endangered the lives of those who were forced to participate. The encomienda consisted of a grant by the crown to a conqueror, a soldier, an official, or others of a specified number of natives. The receiver of the grant could extract tribute from them in kind or in labour and was required to protect and instruct them in the Christian faith. Candidates may discuss that although the original intent of the encomienda was to reduce the abuses of forced labour, in practice it became a form of enslavement. The encomienda also allowed the Spaniards to gain control over the lands inhabited by indigenous communities. Candidates’ opinions or conclusions will be presented clearly and supported by appropriate evidence.

Few responses recorded for the question demanding discussion on the economic impact of mita and encomienda in Spanish America. Performance was rather weak with descriptions of both systems but a generalized reference to their impact.