Latin Americans

Latin Americans are people from Latin America, a region shaped chiefly by Spanish, Portuguese, and French colonial histories and their cultural legacies.

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Latin American identity: A collective identity associated with Latin America, shaped by regional ties, histories, cultures, and political ideas. Shows how people from diverse countries may claim a shared regional identity.
Latin America: A region of the Americas shaped chiefly by Spanish-, Portuguese-, and French-speaking colonial histories. Defines the geographic and historical region from which the people are named.
Spanish colonization of the Americas: Spain's conquest and governance of extensive territories in the Americas from the late fifteenth century onward. Spanish rule shaped the ancestry, language, religion, and institutions of many Latin Americans.
Latin American diaspora: People of Latin American origin living outside the region, together with their communities and transnational ties. Emigration connects Latin American societies with communities around the world.
Latinidad: A cultural and political sense of Latin American identity, especially as expressed in the United States. Explores how Latin American identity is interpreted within U.S. society.
Spanish language: A Romance language originating in the Iberian Peninsula and spoken widely across Latin America. Spanish is a major language, but it does not define every Latin American.
Portuguese colonization of the Americas: Portugal's colonization of Brazil, beginning in the sixteenth century and lasting into the nineteenth. It formed the distinctive colonial history of Latin America's largest country.
Latin American migration to the United States: Migration from Latin America to the United States, shaped by economic, political, and family ties. A major migration corridor influences both U.S. communities and countries of origin.
Hispanic and Latino Americans: People in the United States with origins in Spanish-speaking countries or Latin America, categories that overlap but differ. Distinguishes U.S. labels from the broader population of Latin America.
Portuguese language: A Romance language originating in the Iberian Peninsula and spoken throughout Brazil and elsewhere. Portuguese-speaking Brazil is central to the region's population and identity.