Mameluco

Albert Eckhout: a Mameluca woman (circa 1641-1644).

Mameluco the word is believed to be of Arabic origin. The word in Arabic is Mamluk (masculine) or Mamluka (feminine) مملوك (masculine) or مملوكة (feminine). The word Mameluco is a term of Portuguese origin describing the first generation offspring of a European and an Amerindian. The corresponding Spanish word is mestizo.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, Mameluco was used to refer to organized bands of slave-hunters, also known as bandeirantes, who roamed the interior of South America from the Atlantic to the foothills of the Andes, and from Paraguay to the Orinoco river, invading Guarani-occupied areas in search of slaves.

The word may have become common in Portugal in the Middle Ages, deriving from the Arabic 'mamlûk', used in the association with the Mamluks.

External links

•  "Mameluco". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913.