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1. Origins and development of the concept in AfricaThe word Creole is of Portuguese origin ( crioulo) and derives from the verb  criar (“to feed”, “to raise, bring up”). The term was coined around the mid-15th century in the context of the incipient Portuguese slave trade (Slave market) with the coastal regions of West Africa (especially in the territories of what is now Congo and Angola; Atlantic world, with map). Children born in captivity to parents already enslaved were called Creoles (Slavery). The term was then…

1. SpainAt the beginning of the early modern period in Spain, limpieza de sangre (“purity of blood”) meant “Old Christian” descent without Jewish or Muslim ancestors. The term emerged during the 15th century as an instrument for social differentiation of the long-established Christian population from the Jews who had converted to Christianity. Since the anti-Jewish riots of 1391, the number of converts (Spanish  conversos) had risen steadily. Until their ejection in 1492, the Jewish population of Spain was legally excluded from high public office and liv…

1. Mestizaje between biology and cultureThe Spanish term mestizaje denotes the biological and cultural “mixing” of different ethnic groups. It arose in the course of the Spanish conquest of the Americas (Conquista). Soon after the European appropriation began, sexual contacts took place between the conquerors and the Indigenous population (American indigenous peoples). The resultant offspring were called mestizos (“mixed-bloods”). The derivative mestizaje was extended by historians to denote all forms of ethnic “mixing” between the white, black, and in…

1. South Asia 1.1. Principles and research The use of the term caste in relation to the social order of South Asia dates back to the early 16th century, when Portuguese travelers to India began to use the word casta (from Latin castus, ‘pure,’ ‘chaste’), borrowed from Spanish, to refer to certain groups within the indigenous population [3] (see below, 2.1.). At first, it was applied relatively indiscriminately to a wide range of large groups differentiated by religion, ethnicity, or social status. Its exclusive application to the Indian (especially H…