Hacienda

Hacienda ( /ˌhæsiˈɛndə/ or /ˌhɑːsiˈɛndə/; or ) is a Spanish word for an estate. Some haciendas were plantations, mines, or even business factories. Many haciendas combined these productive activities. The hacienda system of Argentina, parts of Brazil, Chile, Mexico and New Granada was a system of large land-holdings that were an end in themselves as the marks of status (in Portuguese, the cognate term fazenda applies to the similar system in Brazil). The hacienda aimed for self-sufficiency in everything but luxuries meant for display, which were destined for the handful of people in the circle of the patrón.