Originally Posted by
pulstar
I wanted to say "was brutally colonized". Here are parts of a first chapter from book Why Nations Fail on Spanish colonial system of Latin America:
The Spanish strategy of colonization was highly effective. First perfected by Cortes in Mexico, it was based on observation that the best way for the Spanish to subdue opposition was to capture the indigenous leader. This strategy enabled the Spanish to claim the accumulated wealth of the leader and coerce the indigenous peoples to give tribute and food. The next step was setting themselves up as the new elite of the indigenous society and taking control of the existing methods of taxation, tribute, and, particularly, forced labor.
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For conquest of New Granada (modern Columbia) Dominican priest Bartolomeo de las Casas wrote:
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To export the Latin American silver, the Spanish needed miners. They sent chief colonial viceroy Francisco de Toledo to Peru. In order to find the labor, de Toledo first moved entire indigenous population in new towns called reducciones, which would facilitate the labor exploitation for the Spanish Crown. Then he adapted Incan institution called mita. Under this system, Incas had used forced labor to run plantations designed to provide food for temples, the aristocracy, and the army. In return, the Inca elite provided famine relief and security. In de Toledo's system, mitas became largest and most onerous scheme of labor exploitation in Spanish colonial period. The mita system was abandoned in 1825.
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