Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Spanish term or phrase:
contrar con esclavos
English translation:
traded slaves / bought and sold slaves
Spanish term
contrar con esclavos
Díaz del Castillo (2011) describe cómo los caciques “…tenían cantidad de indios
e indias por esclavos y los vendían y contrataban con ellos como se contrata
cualquier mercancía y andaban indios mercaderes de plaza en plaza y de mercado
en mercado vendiéndolos y trocándolos a oro y mantas y cacao…”.
Thanks!
| 4 +11 | traded slaves / bought and sold slaves |
Patricia Fierro, M. Sc.
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Non-PRO (2): patinba, philgoddard
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Proposed translations
Ecuador
Language and engineering expert
Native in: Spanish 
, English
Works in: English to Spanish, Portuguese to English, Spanish to English, and 7 more.
traded slaves / bought and sold slaves
| agree |
Patrice
7 mins
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Thanks
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| agree |
Muriel Vasconcellos
43 mins
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| agree |
Marie Wilson
45 mins
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| agree |
David Hollywood
58 mins
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| agree |
philgoddard
: Contratar, not contrar
1 hr
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| agree |
Evelyne Trolley de Prévaux
2 hrs
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| agree |
Joshua Parker
5 hrs
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| agree |
Robert Carter
5 hrs
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| agree |
JohnMcDove
7 hrs
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| agree |
neilmac
10 hrs
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| agree |
Charles Davis
: "traded" yes (is the sense of "bartered (with)", as explained in the discussion area; "bought and sold" no.
1 day 1 hr
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Discussion
https://books.google.es/books?id=_Ly7CwAAQBAJ&pg=PT1158&lpg=...
"Contrar" is simply a spelling mistake in the question term.
"Contratar" meant "Comerciar, traficar, ajustar, convenir, ò hacer algun contrato ù obligacion" (Autoridades, 1729).
Patricia's first answer, "traded", is correct, though "bartered" would be more accurate (barter is a form of trade). It says "contrataban CON ellos", meaning that they used them to trade with, to buy things with. It doesn't mean buying slaves and it's not a synonym of "vendían": it doesn't mean selling them for money. It means what Bernal explains in the next sentence: "trocándolos a oro y mantas y cacao": exchanging them for goods.
With 10 agrees already I think it would be a waste of time posting another answer, but that is what it means.
I am asking that, because it could be the an archaic use "contrar", as in "count on" or "rely upon". This is 1550... decade up or down...
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernal_Díaz_del_Castillo