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For the white Latino population of the United States, please see White Hispanic and Latino Americans
White Latin Americans[8] are the white population of Latin America. They are descendants of 16th to 19th century colonial-era settlers and of post-independence immigrants. The settlers were mostly Spanish and Portuguese, the post-independence immigrants were mostly Italian. Other large sources of immigrants were Spain, Portugal, Germany, Poland, France, Lebanon, and the British Isles. Smaller numbers came from various other European and Middle Eastern countries. The immigrants came principally in the late decades of the nineteenth and early decades of the twentieth centuries. Some twelve million people arrived in South America alone in this period, although many returned or re-migrated to other countries, including the United States and Canada. The largest group in the region,[2] white Latin Americans number approximately 190 million, or one-third of the total population of nearly 580 million in 2008.
[edit] History
More than one and a half million Portuguese and Spaniards settled in their American colonies during the colonial period.[9][10] Small numbers of other Europeans also settled, usually as a reward for military service to Spain or Portugal. For the region as a whole, the number of post-independence immigrants far surpassed that of settlers during the colonial period.[11] Argentina and Uruguay were "inundated" with European immigrants, so that in the early 20th century Buenos Aires had a larger proportion of European-born population than did New York City. Argentina received more than half of the 11-12 million immigrants to South America in this time.[11] In Brazil, the most populous country in the region, the effect was consequently not as great, but the number of immigrants was large, at more than 4 million. [edit] AdmixtureSince the European colonization, the evolution of Latin America's population is embedded in a long and widespread history of intermixing, so that many White Latin Americans have Amerindian and/or sub-Saharan African and/or Asian ancestry. However, intermixing is not exclusive to the region, of course, and the white race is nowhere a "pure" race: pure races do not exist, and evidently never have.[12] For example, a 2004 study of White Americans showed that up to 30% of them have between 2% and 20% Sub–Saharan African and/or Native American admixture, similar to the ratio of white Latin Americans.[13] Under the casta system of colonial Latin America, a person of mixed European and Amerindian ancestry would legally and automatically regain their limpieza de sangre (lit. "purity of blood") and be classified as criollo with others in that category (a designation denoting "pure" Spaniards born in the Americas), if they were of one-eighth or less Amerindian ancestry. These would be the offspring of a castizo (1/4 Amerindian and 3/4 Spanish) with a Spaniard or a criollo (who may himself have been mixed).[14] In practice, many castizos did themselves also subversively purchase their Whiteness all over Latin America, for a steep price,[15] with relevant "probanzas de limpieza de sangre" records altered, consolidating themselves within the lawfully white population. Additionally, at least in the parts of Latin America under the jurisdiction of the Viceroyalty of New Spain (from the modern Southwest United States plus Florida, all of modern Mexico then down as far south as the southern border of modern Costa Rica, as well as Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic), officials in the late 16th century did actually decide "to grant limpieza certification to those who had no more than a fourth of native ancestry (called castizos)."[14] [edit] PopulationsThe largest White population in Latin America is found in Brazil, with 93.1 million whites out of 190 million total Brazilians, a ratio of 49.7%.[1] The CIA figure is 53.7%, or 102 million.[2] Argentina, with a population of 40 million is 97% White, the largest percentage in Latin America, and indeed, in the Americas.
Mexico has the third largest White population, with 9.9 million or over 16 million. Depending on definition of "Latin America", the smallest White population in Latin America is either in Honduras, with only 1% White, approximately 75,000 people, or in Haiti. Chile, Costa Rica, and Guatemala have censuses which identify both Whites and Mestizos (people of mixed White and Amerindian ancestry) in one category, so the exact percentage of Whites in those countries is undetermined or unknown.
[edit] Central America[edit] Costa RicaThe exact percentage of the white Costa Rican population is not known because the Costa Rican census does not report separate numbers for whites.[25] In its 2000 Census results, Indigenous, Black, and Chinese Costa Ricans combined for 3.8% of the population, while 93.7% were "other"; the remaining 2.6% gave no answer (numbers are rounded to tenths).[25] The CIA states that whites and mestizos are 94%.[26] There are figures for the white population by itself, such as 80%,[27] and 47%.[28] The white population is primarily of Spanish ancestry.[29] There are also significant numbers of Costa Ricans of Italian, Lebanese, German, Jewish and Polish descent. In contrast to its neighboring countries' populations, less mixing of the Spanish settlers and the indigenous populations occurred; therefore, a vast majority of Costa Ricans are either of Spanish or to a lesser extent of mestizo heritage.
[edit] El SalvadorOf the total Salvadoran population, 9% is white.[30] They're mostly of Spanish descent, others of Italian, German, French, and Palestinian ancestry. The majority of the white Salvadorans are in San Salvador, Chalatenango, Northern San Miguel, Northern La Union, and Santa Ana.
[edit] GuatemalaThe exact percentage of the white Guatemalan population is not known because the Guatemalan census combines mestizos and whites in one category, where they make up a combined total of 59.4%. Whites are mostly of Spanish descent, but there are also those of German, English, Italian, and Scandinavian descent).
[edit] HondurasHonduras contains perhaps the smallest percentage of whites in Latin America, with only 1% classified as white, or up to 75,000 of the total population. (If included, it might be Haiti, instead.) Of these, the majority are people of Spanish descent. [31]
[edit] Nicaragua
White Nicaraguans make up 17%, about 1 million, of the Nicaraguan population.[24] The majority of White Nicaraguans are of Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese and French ancestry. In the 1800s Nicaragua experienced several waves of immigration, primarily from Europe. In particular, families from Germany, Italy, Spain, France and Belgium immigrated to Nicaragua, mostly to the departments in the Central and Pacific region. As a result, the Northern cities of Estelí, Jinotega and Matagalpa have significant fourth generation Germans. They established many agricultural businesses such as coffee and sugar cane plantations, and also newspapers, hotels and banks. The Jews of Nicaragua are descendants of Ashkenazi Jews from Eastern Europe. Also present is a small Middle Eastern-Nicaraguan community of Syrians, Armenians, Palestinian Nicaraguans, and Lebanese Nicaraguans with a total population of about 30,000. [edit] PanamaWhite Panamanians form 10% of the current population, up to 250,000,[32] with the Spanish being the majority. Other ancestries includes Dutch, English, French, German, Irish, Italian, Lebanese, Portuguese and Russian.
[edit] MexicoWhite Mexicans are estimated between 9% and 15% of Mexico's population or around 10 to 16.3 million people.[3] The majority of White Mexicans have Spanish descent. However, many other non-Iberian immigrants (mostly French) also arrived during the Second Mexican Empire and during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the majority from Italy, Germany, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Lebanon and Israel.[33][34] White Americans and Canadians, Greeks, Romanians, Portuguese, Armenians, Poles, Russians, Ashkenazic Jews and immigrants from other Slavic countries,[34] along with many Spanish refugees fleeing the Spanish Civil War also settled in Mexico.[35] White Mexicans are found in all regions of the country, but are most common in the western, central and northern states, especially in Sonora, Chihuahua and Baja California Sur.[36] [edit] Caribbean[edit] CubaWhite Cubans make up about 65%[4][37] or 37%[5] of Cuba's total population, with the majority being of diverse Spanish descent, mainly from the settlers but also from the more recent influx of exiles from Franco's Spain. The ancestry of white Cubans comes primarily from Spain, with many others being of French, Portuguese, German, Italian, and Russian descent.[38] During the 18th, 19th and early part of the 20th century, large waves of Canarians, Catalans, Andalusians, Castilians, and Galicians emigrated to Cuba. Also, minor but significant ethnic influx is derived from diverse peoples from Middle Eastern nations such as Lebanon and Jews; however, not all Cuban Jews are from the Middle East, as many are Sephardic Jews. Between 1900 and 1930, close to a million Spaniards arrived from Spain; many of these and their descendants left after Castro's communist regime took power. [edit] Dominican RepublicWhite Dominicans represent 16% of the total population,[22] with the vast majority being of Spanish descent. Notable other ancestries includes Italian, Lebanese, French, German, and Portuguese.[39][40][41] The government of Rafael Leónidas Trujillo made a point of "whitening" the racial composition of the country, rejecting black immigrants from Haiti and the local blacks as foreigners.[42] For example, he welcomed Jewish refugees in 1938 and Spanish farmers in the 1950s.[43][44] [edit] HaitiNote: not all definitions of Latin America include Haiti Most of the white Haitians are descendants of French settlers that settled on the Hispaniola, although most French stepped out of the nation after its freedom. The white community in Saint-Domingue numbered 32,000 in 1789.[45] There are also white Haitians that are descendants of Danes, Germans, Italians, Lebanese, Poles, Portuguese, Russians, and Syrians. The country has also small numbers of Haitians of Spanish descent, who are the descendants of the first settlers on the whole of Hispaniola before French rule came to Haiti. [edit] Puerto RicoWhite Puerto Ricans of European, mostly Spanish descent, are said to comprise the majority. In the year 1899, one year after the U.S took control of the island, 61.8% of people identified as White. For the first time in fifty years, the 2000, United States Census asked people to define their race. One hundred years later, the total has risen to 80.5% (3,064,862), one percent more than reported in 1950.[46] One possible reason for Puerto Rico's high percentage of European-descent population is the fact that many of the Puerto Ricans of African or Native American descent left the island in waves of migration. From the beginning of the twentieth century American observers remarked on the "surprising preponderance of the white race" on the island. One travel writer called Puerto Rico "the whitest of the Antilles". In a widely distributed piece, a geologist, wrote that the island was "notable among the West Indian group for the reason that its preponderant population is of the white race." In a more academic book he reiterated that "Porto Rico, at least, has not become Africanized.[47] During the 19th century, hundreds of Corsican, French, Lebanese, and Portuguese families, along with large numbers of immigrants from Spain (mainly from Catalonia, Asturias, Galicia, the Balearic Islands, Andalusia, and the Canary Islands) and numerous Spanish loyalists from Spain's former colonies in South America, arrived in Puerto Rico. Other settlers have included Irish, Scots, Germans, Italians, and thousands others who were granted land from Spain during the Real Cedula de Gracias de 1815 (Royal Decree of Graces of 1815), which allowed European Catholics to settle in the island with a certain amount of free land. After the United States took possession of Puerto Rico after the Spanish-American War, White Americans began settling in Puerto Rico, continuing to the present day. Spanish refugees arrived in Puerto Rico during Francisco Franco’s rule in Spain. [edit] South America[edit] ArgentinaWhite Argentines make up 97% of Argentina's population, or around 39 million people.[16] Whites are found in all areas of the country. White Argentines mainly are descendants of immigrants who came from Europe in the late 19th century. Most of these immigrants came from Spain and Italy. Other whites are Germans, Dutch, French, Scandinavians (mostly Swedes), Jews, Poles and other East Europeans, and Arabs.
[edit] BoliviaWhite Bolivians make up 15% of the nation's population, or up to 1.4 million.[23] The white population consists mostly of criollos, which consist of families of relatively unmixed Spanish ancestry from the Spanish colonists and also Spanish refugees fleeing the 1936—1939 Spanish Civil War. These have formed much of the aristocracy since independence. Other smaller groups within the white population are Germans, who founded the national airline Lloyd Aereo Boliviano, as well as Italians, Americans, Basques, Lebanese, Croats, Russians, Polish, and other minorities, many of whose members descend from families that have lived in Bolivia for several generations.
[edit] BrazilAccording to the 2005 census, White Brazilians make up 49.7% of Brazil's population, or 93.1 million people.[1] Figures in the CIA World Factbook put whites at 53.7%, or 102 million.[2] Whites are found in the entire territory of Brazil, although the main concentrations are in the South and Southeastern parts of the country. By the 1800s, close to one million Europeans had left for Brazil, most of them colonial settlers from Portugal. The immigration boom occurred between the mid-19th and mid-20th centuries, when nearly five million Europeans immigrated to Brazil, most of them Italians, Portuguese, Germans, Spaniards, Poles, Lithuanians, Ukrainians and Ashkenazi Jews. The country has also a large Lebanese diaspora among other Levant Arabs.
[edit] ChileThe Chilean population is approximately 30% to 35% white, with predominantly white Mestizos further numbered at 65%.[7] These two figures are normally combined, so that Chile's population is classified as 95% white and white-Amerindian (mestizo) or (Castizo), 3% Amerindian, and 2% other.[7] Whites are mostly Spanish in origin (mainly Castilians, Andalusians and Basques). The more notable other groups are Italians, Irish, French, Germans, English, Scots, Croats, and Palestinians.
[edit] ColombiaThe white Colombian population is approximately 20%, or up to 8.9 million.[18] White Colombians are mostly descendants of Spaniards, but some are also of Italians, Germans, British, Lithuanians, French, Belgians, Polish, Portuguese, Ukrainians, Lebanese, Croatians, and Scandinavians. The Colombian Paisa Region received a strong immigration wave from Spain (Basques, and others from Extremadura and Andalusia) during 16th and 17th centuries.
[edit] Ecuador
[edit] ParaguayEthnically, culturally, and socially, Paraguay has one of the most homogeneous populations in South America. The exact percentage of the white Paraguayan population is not known because the Paraguayan census does not include racial or ethnic identification, save for the indigenous population,[49] which reached 1.7% of the country's total in the last census in 2002.[50] Other sources estimate the other groups. The mestizo population is estimated at 95% by the CIA World Factbook, and all other groups at 5%.[51] Thus, Whites and the remaining groups (Asians, Afro-Paraguayans, others, if any) combine for approximately 3.3% of the total population. The majority of whites are of Spanish descent with others being of Italian, German, or of other European descent.
[edit] PeruWhite Peruvians represent 15% of the population, or 4.3 million people.[19] They are descendants primarily of Spanish colonists, and also of Spanish refugees fleeing the Spanish Civil War, while many others descend from Italian, French (mainly Basques), Austrian or German, Portuguese, British, Russians, Croatians, Lebanese and Syrian immigrant families. The majority of the whites live in the largest cities, concentrated usually in the northern coastal cities of Trujillo, Chiclayo, Piura, and of course the capital Lima. The only southern city with a significant population is Arequipa. To the north Cajamarca and San Martín Region are also places with a strong Spanish influence and ethnic presence.
[edit] UruguayWhite Uruguayans represent approximately 88% of the population and are of prevalently European descent,[21] mainly Spaniards (both colonial settlers and refugees fleeing Spanish Civil War), followed closely by Italians, then British, Germans, French, Swiss, Russians, Portuguese, Poles, Bulgarians, Hungarians, Ukrainians, Lithuanians, Estonians, Latvians, Dutch, Belgians, Croatians, Lebanese, Armenians, Greeks, Scandinavians, and Irish.
[edit] VenezuelaVenezuela has no official race percentages; however, unofficial estimates put the white Venezuelan percentage at 20. The majority of white Venezuelans are of Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, German, and other European descent. Nearly half a million European immigrants, mostly from Spain (as a sequel of the Spanish Civil War), and from Italy and Portugal, entered the country and during and after the second World War.
[edit] Notable White Latin Americans
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