• (n.) A partition or distribution, especially of slaves; also, an assessment of taxes.
in colonial Spanish America, a system by which the crown allowed certain colonists to recruit Indians for forced labour. The repartimiento system, ... [2 related articles]
The distribution of the native Indian population among conquistadors or settlers in colonial Spanish America (16th to 19th centuries). It forced the Indians into financial dependence. The system was...
Re`par·ti`mi·en'to noun [ Spanish , from repartir to divide.] A partition or distribution, especially of slaves; also, an assessment of taxes. W. Irving. 
Derived from Spanish verb repartir (to divide up); a loosely regulated system under which Spanish colonial authorities were empowered to impose and regulate the labor of Indians.