mulatto

is a racial classification to refer to people of mixed African and European ancestry. Its use is considered outdated and offensive in several languages, including English and Dutch, whereas in languages such as Italian, Spanish and Portuguese is not, and can even be a source of pride. A is a female mulatto. Countries with the highest percentages of multi-racials who specifically have equally high European and African ancestry— Mulatto, are Dominican Republic (74%) and Cape Verde (71%). Brazil has the largest Mulatto population, known as Pardo in Brazil, numbering about 91 million, 45% of the country. Mulattos in many Latin American countries, aside from the strong European and African blood, usually also have slight indigenous admixture. "Race-mixing" has been strong in Latin America for centuries, since the start of the colonial period in many cases, many Latin American multiracial families (including mulatto) have been mixed for several generations and now the mixing has been mostly multiracials reproducing with other multiracials. Other countries with large mulatto populations in percentage and/or total number include Cuba, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Panama, Colombia, South Africa, and the United States. Etymology The English term and spelling mulatto is derived from the Spanish and Portuguese . It was a common term in the Southeastern United States during the era of slavery. Some sources suggest that it may derive from the Portuguese word (from the Latin ), meaning 'mule', the hybrid offspring of a horse and a donkey. The Real Academia Española traces its origin to in the sense of hybridity; originally used to refer to any mixed race person. The term is now generally considered outdated and offensive in non-Spanish and non-Portuguese speaking countries, and was considered offensive even in the 19th century.