Mulatto
 A mulatta woman in the viceregal era in 1711 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Languages | |
| Religion | |
| Predominantly Roman Catholic; religious minorities including Protestants exist | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
related. Replace with related_groups.langs. Replace with languages.rels. Replace with religions.caption. Replace with image_caption.Mulatto (UK: /mjuːˈlætoʊ, məˈ-/ mew-LAT-oh, mə-, US: /məˈlɑːtoʊ, mjuːˈ-/ mə-LAH-toh, mew-) is a racial classification that refers to people of mixed African and European ancestry. When speaking or writing about a singular woman in English, the word is mulatta (Spanish: mulata). The use of this term began in areas that later became the United States shortly after the Atlantic slave trade began.
Although it has been employed in derogatory contexts, some mixed-race communities reject the claim that the term is inherently offensive and instead regard it as a descriptor that has been mischaracterized by individuals who are not of mixed-race origin. Since the post Civil Rights Era, the term is considered controversial in the United States. It has begun to be deemed a racist term in Brazil recently, with the government explicitly advising against its use, in spite of its long usage in the Brazilian Portuguese vernaculars. In other English-, Spanish-, and Dutch-speaking countries, for example in the West Indies and Hispanic America, the word mulatto (or a derivative) is used to this day.
Countries with the highest percentages of persons who have equally high European and African ancestry are the Dominican Republic (74%) and Cape Verde (71%). Mulattos in many Latin American countries, aside from predominately European and African ancestry, usually also have slight indigenous admixture. Race-mixing has been prevalent in Latin America for centuries, since the start of the European colonization of the Americas in many cases. Many Latin American multiracial families (including mulatto) have been mixed for several generations. In the 21st century, multiracials now frequently have unions and marriages with other multiracials. Other countries and territories with notable mulatto populations in percentage or total number include Cuba, Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Panama, Colombia, South Africa, and the United States.