Mestizo (; Peninsular Spanish: , Latin American Spanish: ) is a term traditionally used in Spain and Spanish America to mean a person of combined European and Amerindian descent, or someone who would have been deemed a Castizo (one European parent and one Mestizo parent) regardless if the person was born in Latin America or elsewhere. The term was used as an ethnic/racial category in the casta system that was in use during the Spanish Empire's control of their New World colonies. Mestizos are usually considered to be mixed Spaniards by the crown of Spain.