Advanced Placement (AP) World History Practice Exam 2025 - Free AP World History Practice Questions and Study Guide

The hacienda system is characterized by landed estates that were typically granted to conquistadors and later kept by their descendants in post-colonial Latin America. These estates were large agricultural lands that relied on labor from indigenous peoples, and sometimes enslaved Africans, to produce cash crops such as sugar, tobacco, and grains. The hacienda owners, often wealthy, had considerable control over the local economy and society, establishing a feudal-like system where the workers were tied to the land and faced various forms of exploitation. This system significantly influenced the socio-economic landscape of Latin American countries for centuries, shaping their agricultural practices and social hierarchies.

In contrast, small family farms represent a different model of agriculture that focuses on subsistence and community rather than large-scale plantation-style economies. Nomadic herding refers to the pastoral practice of moving livestock to find fresh pastures, while mining operations focus on the extraction of minerals rather than agricultural production. Thus, these alternatives do not capture the essence or impact of the hacienda system, which was fundamentally about large estates and the labor systems that sustained them.