Encomienda
The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary · Walter A. Shumaker and George Foster Longsdorf; ed. James C. Cahill · 1922
The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary
A charge or mandate conferring certain important privileges on the four military orders of Spain, to wit, those of Santiago, Calatrava, Alcantara, and Montesa. In the legislation of the Indias, it signified the concession of a certain number of Indians for the purpose of instructing them in the Christian religion, and defending their persons and property.