 A casta painting of a European man and an Indigenous American woman with a Mestizo child | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Latin America, United States, Spain, Philippines, Micronesia | |
| Languages | |
| Religion | |
| Predominantly Roman Catholic; religious minorities include Protestants and syncretism with Native American beliefs, animism, or Anito exist | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Spaniards Indigenous peoples of the Americas Negritos Chinese people Métis |
Mestizo (meh-STEE-tzo), is a Spanish term for a mixed person who is of Native American and European ancestry. It is most often used with mixed race people.
Mestizos have existed since men from Spain controlled much of what is now Latin America. "Mestizo" is the masculine form; "Mestiza" the feminine. Mestizos form the largest part of the population in some Latin American nations. A large minority of Mestizos makes up most of the population in Mexico, the Spanish-speaking nation with the largest population in the world.
During the colonial era, many Native Americans converted to Roman Catholicism and began using Spanish instead of their traditional language. That was because of the racial hierarchy that existed in the Spanish colonies, which gave Spaniards a higher social class than Native Americans and free or enslaved West Africans. That has made many Native Americans gain a better social status by calling themselves "Mestizos" instead of "Indios."
