Mestizo

Colonial New Spain used a caste (casta) system that classified people according to their ancestry. “Mestizo” was the label for people of mixed Spanish and Indigenous descent, who over time became a very large part of the population.

Other categories included criollos (Spaniards born in the Americas), peninsulares (Spaniards born in Spain), and mulatos (people of Spanish and African descent). The caste system was abolished after independence, and mestizaje later came to be celebrated as a foundation of Mexican national identity.