Historically refers to a person who owned land or had control over a community.
El comendero tiene muchas tierras a su nombre.
The landowner has many lands in his name.
El comendero decidió aumentar el alquiler de sus tierras, a pesar de que los trabajadores ya luchaban por sobrevivir.
The landlord decided to raise the rent on his lands, despite the fact that the workers were already struggling to survive.