Zambo (Spanish: [ˈθambo] or [ˈsambo]) or Sambu is a racial term historically used in the Spanish Empire to refer to people of mixed Amerindian and African ancestry.

Zambo is a racial term historically used in the colonies of the Americas. It is a Spanish and Portuguese expression referring to people of mixed Indigenous and African ancestry.

…time went on, as with zambo (Black-indigenous mix) and pardo (literally, “brown person,” commonly used to denote a person of African and European descent). Spanish colonists attempted to systematize a hierarchy of socio-racial classes, known as a sociedad de castas (“society of castes, or breeds”). Portuguese colonists were less pedantic…

The meaning of ZAMBO is a Latin-American of mixed indigenous and African ancestry.

Zambo, the lowest of a series of derogatory names by which Spaniards referred to members of the racially mixed groups called castas (castes).

Zambo or cafuzo are racial terms used in the Spanish and Portuguese Empires and occasionally today to identify individuals in the Americas who are of mixed African and Amerindian ancestry.

There are two meanings listed in OED's entry for the noun zambo. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

This paper examines reasons why the existence of Afro-Indian societies has been denied. It begins with an examination of efforts made in the colonial period by settlers, church, and state to prevent contact between blacks and Native Americans and/or the emergence of zambo societies.

Un Zambo es una persona que tiene ancestros de origen africano e indígena en su ascendencia. Esta mezcla de culturas y orígenes étnicos ha dado lugar a identidades únicas en diferentes regiones de América Latina.

Jan 17, 2025 · Zambo is a historical term used in Latin America to refer to individuals of mixed African and Indigenous ancestry. The term originated during the colonial period and was part of the casta system, which classified people based on their racial and ethnic backgrounds.