asiento

Asiento is a Spanish noun with several related meanings centered on seating and placement. Primarily, it denotes a place to sit, such as a chair or bench, or the act of seating someone. It can also refer more generally to a position or seat within a group, such as a legislative seat.

The term is also historically significant for the asiento de negros, a license granted by the Spanish Crown to permit the importation of enslaved Africans to Spanish territories in the Americas. Originating in the 16th century, the system functioned as a state-sponsored monopoly contracted to merchants or companies to supply enslaved people in exchange for payment or other terms. The asiento was a central component of the transatlantic slave trade and a locus of international competition and controversy. The contract changed hands several times, notably after the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 when Britain acquired the right to supply enslaved Africans for a period. The system gradually declined in the 18th century as Spain reformed its colonial administration and trade practices.

In contemporary use, asiento retains its basic sense of seating. It appears in common phrases such as tomar asiento (to take a seat) and ocupar un asiento in a legislative body (to hold a seat). The word remains an everyday synonym for chair and for the concept of a position or seat within an organization.