Half-caste

For other uses, see Half-caste (disambiguation).

Half-caste (or half-cast) is a term used to describe people of mixed ethnicity.

The term half-caste

Half caste is a term used in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking parts of the world. An example is a child of black African and white European parentage. The term mulatto has also been used for this particular mixture. Both terms are considered impolite and potentially offensive by some in the U.S., as the words have been used pejoratively in the past to ostracize and isolate the offspring of such unions. For example, "children of the plantation" (the children of African-American slaves and their European-American masters in the U.S. Southern states) were not accepted as heirs, and in most cases, the relationship was never acknowledged, and "half-caste" conveyed the deliberate exclusion.

The term originates from the Indian caste-system, where a person of 'lesser' or half-caste would be deemed to be of a 'lower class'.

See also

• Caste
• List of terms for multiraciality
• Métis
• Mestizo
• Mestizaje
• Quadroon