Mulatto

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Juan de Pareja by Diego Velázquez, 1650

Mulatto is a term used to refer to a person who is born from one white parent and one black parent, or more broadly, a person of mixed black and white ancestry. Contemporary usage of the designation is generally confined to situations in which the term is considered relevant in an historical context, as now most people of mixed white and black ancestry rarely choose to self-identify as mulatto. The term is not commonly used any more but is generally considered archaic because of its association with slavery, colonial and racial oppression; accepted modern terms include "mixed" and "biracial." Mulattos may also be an admixture of Native American, South American native and African Americans according to Henings Statutes of Virginia 1705, which reads as follows: "And for clearing all manner of doubts which hereafter may happen to arise upon the construction of this act, or any other act, who shall be accounted a mulatto, Be it enacted and declared, and it is hereby enacted and declared, That the child of an Indigenous and the child, grand child, or great grand child, of a negro shall be deemed, accounted, held and taken to be a mulatto."Hening's Statutes at Large</ref> In colonial Latin America, mulato could also denote an individual of mixed African and Native American ancestry. However, today those who are mixtures of Indigenous peoples of the Americas and Black Africans are called Zambos while those who are mixtures of African American and Native American are called Black Indians and sometimes are solely classified or identify as African American. To further complicate matters, in early American history the term mulatto is also seen regarding Native American and European mixed offspring, and certain tribes of Indians of the Inocoplo family referred to themselves as mulato as well.