Mameluco
Mameluco is a Portuguese word that denotes the first generation offspring of a European and an Amerindian. It corresponds to the Spanish word 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 "mamlūk", "Mamluk".
See also
External links
- Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
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