Decline of Native Population in the New World

Development of Encomienda  Encomienda - Spanish verb encomendar, "to entrust”  Granted by the Spanish crown  Encouraged young Spaniards to come to the New World  Primarily developed for the extraction of natural resources  Consolidated remaining indigenous populations

“Sin indios no hay Indias"  Popular phrase in the 16 th Century: “Without Indians, there are no Indies”  Encomienda = cruelty, hard labor and death  Natives worked hard in mines and plantations  Many died, some escaped into the mountains, some committed suicide  Shortage of labor

So what’s next?  Alternative source of labor  Europeans turn towards West Africa  Africans sell other Africans into slavery

Upon learning about the decimation of the native populations by the Spanish, now we have to look at some of the reasons why Europeans turned their attention toward Africa in terms of labor. In two paragraphs(roughly 5 sentences each!), why do you think Africans were the next option for the Europeans?