In the Spanish colonial caste system (castas), a criollo was a person of unmixed Spanish ancestry born in the colonies. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The word Caste is derived from the Portuguese word casta, meaning lineage, breed or race. ... Casta is a 17th century term used in Mexico, and refers to a person who is neither indigenous nor caucasian. ...

The word is often translated into English as Creole, but this word has a much broader meaning (see Creole peoples). The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The term Creole and its relatives in other languages — such as crioulo, criollo, créole, kriolu, criol, kreyol, kriulo, kriol, krio, etc. ...

The word criollo retains the original meaning in several Spanish-speaking countries in the Americas, as well as in the Philippines. In some countries, however, the word criollo has in time come to have other meanings World map showing the Americas The Americas commonly refers to the lands of the Western hemisphere, consisting of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions. ...

The Criollos in the caste system

While the castas system was in force, the local-born criollos ranked strictly lower than governing peninsulares ("born in the Iberian Peninsula"), despite both being of unmixed White-European, Spanish ancestry. A peninsula is a geographical formation consisting of an extension of land from a larger body that is surrounded by water on three sides. ... The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe. ...

By the 19th century, this discrimination eventually led the criollo to rebel against the Spanish rule. With the support of even lower classes — castizos, mestizos, cholos, mulatos, amerindians, zambos, and ultimately blacks, in descending rank order — they engaged Spain in the Mexican War of Independence (1810–1821) and the South American Wars of Independence (1810–1825), which ended with the break-up of former Spanish Empire in America into a number of independent republics. Castizo is a Spanish word with a general meaning of genuine. It has other more concrete meanings. ... Mestizo (Portuguese, Mestiço; French, Métis: from Late Latin mixticius, from Latin mixtus, past participle of miscere, to mix) is a term of Spanish origin used to designate the people of mixed European and indigenous non-European ancestry. ... Cholo is a Spanish term of Latin American origin. ... Representation of Mulattos during the Latin American colonial period. ... Native Americans (also Indians, Aboriginal Peoples, American Indians, First Nations, Alaskan Natives, or Indigenous Peoples of America) are the indigenous inhabitants of The Americas prior to the European colonization, and their modern descendants. ... A representation of Zambos in Pintura de Castas during the Latin American colonial period. ... The term Blacks is often used in the West to denote race for persons whose progenitors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Sub-Saharan Africa. ... The Mexican War of Independence (1810-1821) was Mexicos struggle for independence from Spanish colonial rule. ... The South American Wars of Independence were fought in the 1810s and 1820s by colonies of Spain and Portugal that desired to break free from the nations that ruled them. ...

The Criollos formed a significant portion of the priestly class in Spanish Mexico and today are the direct White-European descendants of the Spanish Conquest of Mexico. Today, they physically differ from Mexicans of Amerindian hertiage and, per capita, are more affluent than the rest of the population of Mexico.