Mestizo is a racial classification used to refer to a person of a combined European and Indigenous American ancestry. The term was used as an ethnic/racial category for mixed-race castas that evolved during the Spanish Empire.

What makes someone a mestizo?

The term mestizo means mixed in Spanish, and is generally used throughout Latin America to describe people of mixed ancestry with a white European and an indigenous background. ... Across Latin America, these are the two terms most commonly used to describe people of mixed-race background.

What is the difference between Creoles and mestizos?

Creoles - Spanish people who were born in the New World. Along with the Peninsulares, they controlled most of the wealth. Mestizos - People of European and Native American ancestry. Mulattos - People of African and European ancestry.