Encomienda: Spanish Slavery in the New World. The Encomienda System was established in response to the colonists' need for Indian labour, but became the most destructive system in the history of Spanish America. When the Spanish arrived in the New World, they brought with them a set of customs and traditions from their old Spain. One of the systems that were commonly practiced in Western Europe was forced labour. In Spain, this was knownas the Encomienda system.