Colonial Systems and Indigenous Resistance

A Spanish labor system where indigenous people were forced to work for Spanish colonists.

Spanish laws intended to regulate the encomienda system, but were unsuccessful.

Indigenous peoples' attempts to fight against the abuses of the encomienda system.

A Dominican friar who criticized the abuse of indigenous people under the encomienda system.

A system where individuals are owned by others, forced to work without pay.

The use of Africans as a labor force, replacing indigenous people after the collapse of the encomienda system

The transition from indigenous to African labor in Spanish colonies.

Claims made to legitimize the ownership and exploitation of enslaved people.

A method of clearing land for agriculture by burning vegetation. Used by Indigenous peoples like the Taino and Maya to grow crops.

The ways an economy is organized to produce goods and services.

Indigenous peoples (like the Taíno and Maya) shaped Caribbean identity by developing agriculture with methods like slash-and-burn and providing distinct cultures and traditions that were present before the Europeans arrived.

A large-scale agricultural estate that typically grew cash crops like sugar or cotton.

A system where people agreed to work for a fixed period in exchange for passage to the Caribbean.

Farming practices in the Caribbean employed by Taino and Mayan cultures.

A system where enslaved people are treated as property, with no rights or freedoms.

Non-violent acts of defiance against oppression, aimed at disrupting daily life.

Use of violence, including riots and rebellions, to resist oppression.

A social system based on large farms (plantations) where enslaved people work and where racial divisions are prominent.

The act of escaped enslaved people forming communities in remote areas.

The act of freeing enslaved people by purchase.

A period of armed resistance against French colonial rule in Haiti.

Former slaves avoided work on plantations after emancipation, creating their own businesses and villages.

After slavery, planters needed new workers to replace the former slaves, turning to indentured workers from Asia, mostly.

Despite being promised land, and passage, and cash, indentured labourers were often treated poorly, similar to or even worse than slaves.

Indentured workers often left their contracts early, unhappy with their conditions, and mistreatment.

The Caribbean's history involves the exploitation of labor, which is consistent across multiple labor systems, and particularly with reference for slaves, encomienda, and indentured labourers.

Comparing Encomienda, slavery, and indentureship demonstrates a consistent pattern of labour exploitation throughout Caribbean history.

The abolition of slavery forced planters to find alternative labour sources.