Mulatto << muh LAHT oh >> is a term that historically described persons of mixed white and Black descent. The term mulatto also applied to those who had one white and one Black parent. The child of a white person and a mulatto was called a quadroon. Such terms dated from the early days of the Atlantic slave trade, when many enslaved Black women were sexually exploited by white slaveowners. Today, many people consider mulatto offensive when used outside of a historical context.
Mulatto is often confused with Creole, which is more limited in meaning. In the United States, for example, a Creole is a Southerner with any mixture of African, French, Native American, and Spanish ancestry. Creole may also refer to people whose ancestors were early French or Spanish settlers in the Americas. See also Creoles ; Latin America (People) ; Mestizo .
