Repartimiento

The Repartimiento was a Spanish colonial labor system used in the Americas from the 16th to the 18th centuries. It required indigenous communities to provide a certain number of workers for colonial projects, such as mining and agriculture, often without pay or proper compensation. While intended as a replacement for outright slavery, it still involved coerced labor and was exploitative. The system aimed to integrate indigenous people into colonial economies, but many suffered from harsh conditions and loss of autonomy, significantly impacting native populations and their societies.