Final answer:
The encomienda system was a Spanish colonial labor practice that effectively enslaved Native American populations, leading to significant exploitation and decimation of indigenous peoples.
Step-by-step explanation:
The encomienda system was a labor system established by the Spanish during their colonization of the Americas. Under this system, the Spanish crown granted colonists—a group known as encomenderos—control over Native American laborers and, in theory, territory. The encomenderos were expected to protect these indigenous people, often from rival tribes, and to teach them Christian doctrines. However, the system largely resulted in severe exploitation and was akin to forced labor or slavery. It had devastating effects on the Native American population, including overwork, mistreatment, and exposure to European diseases to which they had no immunity.
Notable critics such as Bartolomé de Las Casas condemned the brutality of the system, which eventually led to reforms. The repartimiento system later replaced the encomienda system but also required Native towns to provide labor for the Spanish settlers, thus continuing the cycle of exploitation. In essence, the encomienda system became a main driver of the drastic decline in the Native American population through forced labor, disease, and violence.