Final answer:
The encomienda system was a Spanish colonial practice that forced Native Americans into a form of slavery under the guise of Christianization, giving encomenderos near-total control over native laborers.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Spanish government allowed land owners in the New World to require the services of Indians living on their lands through a system known as the encomienda system, which, in theory, was for the purpose of Christianizing the Indians. However, this encomienda system resulted in a form of slavery for the Indians, as it essentially gave encomenderos total control over native laborers.
These encomenderos exploited the natives, forcing them to work in mines and on plantations under brutal conditions. Over time, it became difficult to distinguish the encomienda from chattel slavery, and it was eventually replaced by the repartimiento system, which was also a coercive labor system but mandated labor from Native towns for a specific period rather than the grant of individuals.