Figure 1.--Latin America is a region of diverse ethnicity. Europeans are part of th mix throughout the region, but make up the largest portion of the population in Argentina. This Argentine boy is doing his First Comminion about 1960.

Ethnic patterns in Latin America and varies from country to country and regionally. There is some European ancestry in all of the region. The basic differential is the level of Native American ancestry. This tends to be very high throuhout the Andes as well as norhern Central America and Mexico. Virtually no native Amrericans survived in the Caribbean. Europeans make up a subtantial portion of the populatin in the Southern Cone, especially Argentina. The two major European countries contributing to the Latin American ethnic mix are Spain and Portugal which attempted to exclude other Europeans, especially Protestans. Other Eiropeans entered the Latin American population, especially in the Caribbean area. Italians played an especiall imprtant role Argentina. There are also great diffence over the number of Latin americans of African ancestry. The largest populatioin is in Brazil which importd large numbers of Africas to work on sugar and other plantations. There also are Africans in other South American countries (the Guianas, Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador. And large number in the as well in the the Caibbean. A few countries have small oriental populatins, mostly Japanese (Brazil) or Indian (Trinidad). We are developing etnicity pages in ou various country sections.

Caribbean

The Caribbean has a very diverse ethnic composition, a creation of the region's colonial history. Almost all Caribbean ethnic groups originated outside the Caribbean. Each island has its own destinct ethnic mix, but the primary ethnic group is Africans--people brought to the Caribbean as slaves during the 15-18th centuries to work on sugar and other plantations. There are also Asians, Europeans, and Hispanics. Almost all the original Native American population perished during the early colonial period because of disease and mistreatment. Few Caribbean people are full Native Americans, but uite a number claim a degree of Native American ancestry. The Native Americans were the Arawaks, Caribs, and Tainos. The Arawaks were not the original population, but they at the time of the arrival of the Spanish being replaced by the more war-like Caribs. The Tains inhabited western Cuba. The Africans were a vast mixture of African tribes, but the Akan, Igbo, Fon, Kongo, and Yoruba were especially important. Most Afro-Caribbeans have lost their tribal idebtity, but it can now be traded through DNA. The Spanish at first dominated the Caribbean which came to be called the Spanish Main. Other Europeans eventually arrived including the Dutch, English, and French. The Europeans are concentrated on the islands of their former colonial possessions. There are also Asians, both Chinese and Indians. The Indians arrived after emancipation (1830s). The freed slaves did not want to work on sugar plantations, especially at the wages offered. So the British imported indentured workers from South Aasia. Indians are particularly important on Trinidad. Hispanics are mostly concentrated in the Greater Antilles (Cuba, Doiminican Republic, and Puerto Rico. And many Caribbean people are increasingly a mix of these various peoples.

Central America

South America

Argentina

Immigration primarily from Europe significantly has played a major role in many Latin Americn countries. Some countries have important indigenous population. Other countries like Argentina is mostly populated by Euopeans. European immigration was especially important in Argentina. It began after independence in 1810, but the principal years were 1880-1910. Many Itlalians immigrated to Argentina, but there were immigrants from many other countries as well, including Spain and England. In the case of Argentina, the social, political and economical crisis of 2002 have caused a substantial reverse migration with many with mant people, usually the father, emmigrting to Spain, the United States, and other countries. In many cases, the emmigrants choose the country they or their ancestors came from.

Brazil

The Portuguese did not encounter an advanced Native American civilization. Unable to enslave the Indians, they imported large numbedrs of African slaves. Many other Europeans have emmigrated to Brazil. Other than Poruguese, the largest European immigrant groyp is Italian. Large numbers of Itlians emigrated to Argentina and Brazil in the late 19th century. These two countries offfered cultural similarities (religion and language). Evventually Italian emifration sgifted to the United States because of the greater economic opportunities there. One reader tells us, "Brazil has a large German population, Especially in the southern states Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul thousands of Germans settled there in the 19th century. I have been to the Oktoberfest in Blumenau some years ago, the second largest after Munich. People come from all over Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay to celebrate. The telephone books are full with German names. I noticed that more people spoke German than English with foreigners. Famous German-Brazilians are Oscar Niemeyer, the architect of many government buildings in the capital Brasilia, tennis star Gustavo Kuerten and supermodel Gisele Buendchen, both from Rio Grande do Sul." There is also a Japanese community centered in Sâo Paulo. There was even a group of Confederates that settled in Brazil after the Civil War. There are also Native American groups. One such tribe is Enawene-Nawe. Native Americans

Created: 5:12 AM 2/20/2014
Last updated: 5:12 AM 2/20/2014