Why did the encomienda owners enslave captive Africans?

The premise of your question is historically inaccurate. During the era of the encomienda system in the Americas, African people were enslaved predominantly and not by encomienda owners but by European colonizers for the purpose of forced labor in plantations, mines, and other industries. They were subjected to brutal exploitation and harsh working conditions in various capacities such as laborers, miners, servants, and sex slaves.

The exploitation of enslaved Africans played a vital economic role in sustaining colonialism and supporting diverse agricultural industries, particularly the production of tropical commodities such as sugarcane in the Caribbean and silver mining in Potosí. The exploitation of African labor significantly boosted productivity and facilitated wealth accumulation for these colonial ventures. This practice has a deeply tragic history linked to systemic racial discrimination and the transatlantic slave trade.