How did large estates affect Indigenous people in colonial Ecuador?

In colonial Ecuador, the establishment of large estates, known as haciendas, profoundly altered the lives of Indigenous people, particularly in the Sierra region. These estates were worked by Indigenous peons who were often subjected to systems of coerced labor.12

While laborers were theoretically free wage earners, landowners frequently bound them to the land by keeping them in a state of debt. This practice was part of a broader colonial framework that included the encomienda system—which granted colonists the right to exact tribute and labor from Indigenous populations—and the repartimiento, a system of forced labor drafts. Although the Spanish crown attempted to regulate these systems through various laws, these efforts often failed to prevent the exploitation and brutal treatment of Indigenous workers.345

By controlling the best agricultural land and high pastures, haciendas maintained a dependent relationship with local Indigenous communities, effectively marginalizing them and shaping the rural social structure for centuries.2