Mestizo

Mestizo (Portuguese, Mestiço; French, Métis: from Late Latin mixticius, from Latin mixtus, past participle of miscere, "to mix") is a term of Spanish origin used to designate the peoples of mixed European and Amerindian racial strain inhabiting the region spanning the Americas, from the Canadian prairies in the north to Argentina and Chile's Patagonia in the south.

The Americas

Hispanic America and Brazil

The Mestizo/Mestiço

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Under the caste system of colonial Latin America and Spain, the term originally applied only to the children resulting from the union of one European and one Amerindian parent, or the children of two mestizo parents. During this era a myriad of other terms (castizo, cuarterón de indio, cholo, etc.) were in use to denote other individuals of European/Amerindian ancestry in ratios smaller or greater than the 50:50 of mestizos. Today, mestizo refers to all people with noticeable amounts of both European and Amerindian ancestry.

Related Topics:
Caste - Latin America - Spain - European - Amerindian - Castizo - Cholo

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Mestizos officially make up the majority of the populations of Chile (90%), Colombia (58%), Ecuador (65%), El Salvador (90%), Honduras1 (90%), Mexico1 (60%), Nicaragua (69%), Panama1 (70%), Paraguay (95%) and Venezuela (67%).

Related Topics:
Chile - Colombia - Ecuador - El Salvador - Honduras - 1 - Mexico - Nicaragua - Panama - Paraguay - Venezuela

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In other American countries where mestizos do not constitute a majority, they nonetheless represent a significant portion of their populations; Argentina (approx. 13%), Belize (44%), Bolivia (30%), Brazil (approx. 12%), Uruguay (8%) and Peru (37%). In Costa Rica mestizos are accounted for as a single figure combined with whites, together they comprise 94% of the population.

Related Topics:
Argentina - Belize - Bolivia - Brazil - Uruguay - Peru - Costa Rica - Whites

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Hispanic nations of the Caribbean are a peculiar case with respect to ancestry. In Puerto Rico - which is said to comprise a White majority, an extinct Amerindian population, persons of mixed ancestry, Africans and a small Asian minority - recent genetic research has revealed matrilineal Native American ancestry in roughly 61% of the population, and thus technically deeming most to be mestizos. An overwhelming majority of Puerto Rican citizens, however, simply define themselves as "Puerto Rican", placing greater importance to ethnic identity rather than racial categorization. This in itself is a testament to the assimilated nature of the culture.

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In Mexico, mestizo has also become a cultural label. In a cultural context, people are considered indígena (Amerindian) if they live following their traditional ways of life (clothing, customs and indigenous languages), otherwise they are also deemed mestizo. Additionally, most of the Afro-Mexican minority would also simply identify as mestizo, rather than black, mulatto or zambo, by virtue of their cultural traits and not their ancestry. These cultural implications of "mestizo" in Mexico can result in an overcount of the population - as high as 80% according to some sources - which would otherwise be mestizo on a racial level. Also, race is not recorded by the Mexican census, so that any calculations performed by government bodies or independent agencies are always estimates.

Related Topics:
Afro-Mexican - Mulatto - Zambo

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Furthermore, though Cuba and the Dominican Republic are recorded as primarily mulatto nations, evidence of Amerindian bloodlines exists and traces of indigenous Taino culture are ubiquitous.

Related Topics:
Cuba - Dominican Republic - Taino

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Canada

The Métis

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In Canada, the Métis are regarded an independent ethnic group. This community of descent consists of individuals descended from marriages of First Nation women - specifically Cree, Ojibway and Saulteaux Amerindian tribes- to French Canadian and British employees of the Hudson's Bay Company. Their history dates to the mid-seventeenth century, and they have been recognized as a people since the early eighteenth.

Related Topics:
First Nation - Cree - Ojibway - Saulteaux - French Canadian - British - Hudson's Bay Company

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Their territory roughly includes the 3 Prairie provinces (Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan), parts of Ontario, British Columbia and the Northwest Territories, as well as, parts of the northern United States (i.e. North Dakota, Montana).

Related Topics:
Manitoba - Alberta - Saskatchewan - Ontario - British Columbia - Northwest Territories - United States - North Dakota - Montana

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Traditionally, the Métis spoke a mixed language called Michif (with various regional dialects). Michif (a phonetic spelling of the Métis pronunciation of Métif, a variant of Métis) is also used as the name of the Métis people. The name is most commonly applied to descendants of communities in what is now southern Manitoba. The name is also applied to the descendants of similar communities in what are now Ontario, Quebec, Labrador and the Northwest Territories, although these groups' histories are different from that of the western Métis.

Related Topics:
Michif - Manitoba - Ontario - Quebec - Labrador - Northwest Territories

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Estimates of the number of Métis vary from 300,000 to 700,000 or more. In September 2002, the Métis people adopted a national definition of Métis for citizenship within the "Métis Nation". Based on this definition, it is estimated that there are 350,000 to 400,000 Métis Nation citizens in Canada. Many Métis classify as Métis anyone who can prove that an ancestor applied for money scrip or land scrip as part of nineteenth-century treaties with the Canadian government.

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The Métis are not recognized as a First Nation by the Canadian government and do not receive the benefits granted to First Nations (see Indian Act). However, the new Canadian constitution of 1982 recognizes the Métis as an Aboriginal people and has enabled individual Métis to sue successfully for recognition of their traditional rights, such as rights to hunt and trap. In 2003, a court ruling in Ontario found that the Métis deserve the same rights as other aboriginal communities in Canada.

Related Topics:
Indian Act - Aboriginal people - 2003 - Ontario

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The United States

"Mixed-Bloods" and Mestizos

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In the United States the term "mixed-blood" is more often employed by non-Hispanic individuals for non-Hispanic people of mixed European and Native American ancestry, while among Hispanics and/or Latinos (American-born or immigrant) mestizo is the term of choice for Hispanic people of that same mixed ancestry.

Related Topics:
United States - Hispanic - Latino

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Of the Mexican Americans who have lived in the Southwestern United States for several generations prior to annexation and incorporation of that region - previously a part of Mexico - into the United States, many classify themselves as mestizo, particularly those who also identify as Chicano. See also Tejanos.

Related Topics:
Mexican Americans - Southwestern United States - Mexico - Chicano - Tejano

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Of the over 40 million Hispanics in the United States, around half are said to be mestizos. The high birth rate among Hispanics in the United States is mostly attributed to mestizos. An additional 48% of Hispanics racially identify as White, though of these many may also possess at least some Amerindian ancestry.

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Renowned mixed-blooded persons in United States' history are many. One such example is Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, who guided the Mormon Battalion from New Mexico to the city of San Diego in California in 1846, and then accepted an appointment there as alcalde of Mission San Luis Rey. His father, Toussaint Charbonneau, was a French Canadian interpreter, and his mother Sacagawea was the Shoshone guide of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. His image can be found on the United States dollar coin along with his mother, Sacagawea. Meanwhile, an internationally known U.S. mestizo is boxing champion Oscar de la Hoya.

Related Topics:
Jean Baptiste Charbonneau - Mormon Battalion - New Mexico - San Diego - California - 1846 - Alcalde - Mission San Luis Rey - Toussaint Charbonneau - Sacagawea - Shoshone - Lewis and Clark Expedition - United States dollar coin - Oscar de la Hoya

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