Pardo
For other uses, see Pardo (disambiguation). Pardo is a term used in the Portuguese and Spanish colonies in the Americas to refer to the triracial descendants of Europeans, Indigenous Americans, and West Africans. They are defined as neither exclusively mestizo (Indigenous American-European descent), nor mulatto (West African-European descent), nor zambo (West African-Indigenous American descent). [1] It is highly associated with the history of slavery and colonialism. [ citation needed ] From the 18th century, the term has been used more widely to identify a brown skin colour. [ citation needed ] But in general use, the physical characteristics may include brown skin ranging from dark brown to almost white. [ citation needed ] Similarly, the person's hair could be curly, straight, or other texture, and any colour. [ citation needed ] In Brazil, the word pardo has had a general meaning, since the beginning of the colonization. In the famous letter by Pero Vaz de Caminha, for e...