View source for Pardo Brazilians

{{short description|Ethnic and skin color category used by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics}}
{{Use DMY dates|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group            = Pardo Brazilians
| native_name      = {{native name|pt|Brasileiros pardos}}
| popplace         = Entire country; highest percentages found in the [[North Brazil|North]] and [[Northeast Brazil|Northeast]] regions
| image            = Brazil Mixed Alone in 2022.svg
| image_caption    = Proportion of Pardo Brazilians in each municipality as of the [[2022 Brazilian census]]
| population       = '''Mixed ancestry predominates'''<br />{{increase}} '''92,083,286''' ([[2022 Brazilian census|2022 census]])<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tabela 9605: População residente, por cor ou raça, nos Censos Demográficos |url=https://sidra.ibge.gov.br/tabela/9605#resultado%7Ct%C3%ADtulo=Tabela |access-date=2024-01-11 |website=sidra.ibge.gov.br}}</ref><br />{{increase}} 45.34% of the Brazilian population
| region1          = {{flagicon|São Paulo}} [[São Paulo (state)|São Paulo]]
| pop1             = 12,122,836
| ref1             = <ref>{{cite web|url=https://cidades.ibge.gov.br/brasil/sp/pesquisa/23/22107 |title=IBGE &#124; Brasil em SĂntese |publisher=Cidades.ibge.gov.br |date= |access-date=2022-08-26}}</ref>
| region2          = {{flagicon|Minas Gerais}} [[Minas Gerais]]
| pop2             = 8,736,860
| ref2             = <ref>{{cite web|url=https://cidades.ibge.gov.br/brasil/mg/pesquisa/23/22107 |title=IBGE &#124; Brasil em SĂntese |publisher=Cidades.ibge.gov.br |date= |access-date=2022-08-26}}</ref>
| region3          = {{flagicon|Bahia}} [[Bahia]]
| pop3             = 8,335,917
| ref3             = <ref>{{cite web|url=https://cidades.ibge.gov.br/brasil/ba/pesquisa/23/22107 |title=IBGE &#124; Brasil em SĂntese |publisher=Cidades.ibge.gov.br |date= |access-date=2022-08-26}}</ref>
| region4          = {{flagicon|Rio de Janeiro}} [[Rio de Janeiro (state)|Rio de Janeiro]]
| pop4             = 6,332,408
| ref4             = <ref>{{cite web|url=https://cidades.ibge.gov.br/brasil/rj/pesquisa/23/22107 |title=IBGE &#124; Brasil em SĂntese |publisher=Cidades.ibge.gov.br |date= |access-date=2022-08-26}}</ref>
| region5          = {{flagicon|Ceará}} [[Ceará]]
| pop5             = 5,268,305
| ref5             = <ref>{{cite web|url=https://cidades.ibge.gov.br/brasil/ce/pesquisa/23/22107 |title=IBGE &#124; Brasil em SĂntese |publisher=Cidades.ibge.gov.br |date= |access-date=2022-08-26}}</ref>
| region6          = {{flagicon|Pernambuco}} [[Pernambuco]]
| pop6             = 4,886,026
| ref6             = <ref>{{cite web|url=https://cidades.ibge.gov.br/brasil/pe/pesquisa/23/22107 |title=IBGE &#124; Brasil em SĂntese |publisher=Cidades.ibge.gov.br |date= |access-date=2022-08-26}}</ref>
| langs            = Predominantly [[Brazilian Portuguese|Portuguese]]. Before the late-18th century, predominantly [[Língua Geral]].
| rels             = 74% [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]]{{·}}18.2% [[Protestantism|Protestant]]{{·}}5.6% [[Irreligion|irreligious]]{{·}}2% other denominations ([[Kardecist spiritism|Kardecist]], [[Umbanda]], [[Candomblé]])<ref name="FGV">{{in lang|pt}} [http://www.fgv.br/cps/simulador/REL/POF_2_LGA/tabelas.asp Study ''Panorama of religions'']. [[Fundação Getúlio Vargas]], 2003.</ref>
| related          = [[Brazilians]]<br />{{hlist |[[White Brazilians]]|[[Black Brazilians]]|[[Native Brazilians]]|[[East Asian Brazilians]]}}
}}

In [[Brazil]], '''Pardo''' ({{IPA|pt|ˈpaʁdu}}) is an [[Race (human categorization)|ethno-racial]] and skin color category used by the [[Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics]] (IBGE) in the Brazilian censuses. The term "''pardo''" is a complex one, more commonly used to refer to Brazilians of [[Mixed-race Brazilian|mixed ethnic ancestries]].

Pardo Brazilians represent a diverse range of skin colors and ethnic backgrounds. The other recognized census categories are ''branco'' ("[[white people|white]]"), ''preto'' ("[[black people|black]]"), ''[[Asian Brazilians|amarelo]]'' ("yellow", meaning ethnic [[East Asia]]ns), and ''indígena'' ("indigene" or "indigenous person", meaning [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Amerindians]]). The term was and is still commonly used, in popular culture and the media, to refer to Brazilians of multi-ethnic backgrounds.

==Definitions==
{{Main article|Race and ethnicity in Brazil}}
[[File:Man playing Brazilian folk music of Recife.jpg|thumb|left|Man playing a Brazilian guitar (Violão) in [[Recife]], [[Pernambuco]].]]

According to [[Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics|IBGE]] (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics), ''pardo'' is a broad classification that encompasses [[Mixed-race Brazilian|multiracial Brazilian]]s such as ''[[Mulatto|mulatos]]'' and ''[[Zambo|cafuzos]]'', as well as assimilated [[Amerindians]] known as ''[[caboclo]]s'', mixed with [[Southern Europe|Southern Europeans]] or not. The term "pardo" was first used in a Brazilian [[1872 Brazilian Census|census in 1872]]. The following census, in 1890, replaced the word ''pardo'' by ''mestiço'' (that of mixed origins). The censuses of 1900 and 1920 did not ask about race, arguing that "the answers largely hide the truth".<ref name=magnoli>{{cite book | last = Magnoli | first = Demétrio | title = Uma Gota de Sangue | publisher = Editora Contexto | year = 2008}}</ref>

In Brazil, the term ''pardo'' has had a general meaning [[Colonial Brazil|since the beginning of the Portuguese colonization]]. In the famous letter by [[Pero Vaz de Caminha]], for example, in which Brazil was first described by the Portuguese, the Native Americans were called "pardo": "Pardo, naked, without clothing".<ref>{{Cite web| url=http://www.culturabrasil.org/zip/carta.pdf | title=A Carta, de Pero Vaz de Caminha | access-date=2014-09-02 | archive-date=2016-12-13 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161213072312/http://www.culturabrasil.org/zip/carta.pdf | url-status=usurped}}</ref>

A reading of colonial wills and testaments also shows it. [[Diogo de Vasconcelos]], a widely known historian from [[Minas Gerais]], mentions, for example, the story of Andresa de Castilhos. According to the information from the 18th century, Andresa de Castilhos was thus described: "I declare that Andresa de Castilhos, pardo woman&nbsp;... has been freed&nbsp;... is a descendant of the natives of the land&nbsp;... I declare that Andresa de Castilhos is the daughter of a white man and a native woman".<ref>[[Diogo de Vasconcelos]], [[History of Minas Gerais]], volume 1, testament of the Colonel Salvador Furtado Fernandes de Mendonça, from about 1725</ref>

The historian [[Maria Leônia Chaves de Resende]] also explains that the word pardo was employed to name people with native ancestry or even Native Americans themselves: a Manoel, natural son of Ana carijó, was baptized as a 'pardo'; in [[Campanha]] several Native Americans were classified as 'pardo'; the natives João Ferreira, Joana Rodriges and Andreza Pedrosa, for example, were named 'freed pardo'; a Damaso called himself 'freed pardo' of the 'native of the land'; etc.<ref name="bibliotecadigital.unicamp.br">Gentios Brasílicos: Índios Coloniais em Minas Gerais Setecentista. Tese de Doutorado em História, IFCH-Unicamp, 2003, 401p; http://www.bibliotecadigital.unicamp.br/document/?code=vtls000295347 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903071050/http://www.bibliotecadigital.unicamp.br/document/?code=vtls000295347 |date=2014-09-03 }}</ref>

According to Maria Leônia Chaves de Resende, the growth of the pardo population in Brazil includes the descendants of natives and not only those of African descent: "the growth of the 'pardo' segment had not only to do with the descendants of Africans, but also with the descendants of the natives, in particular the carijós and bastards, included in the condition of 'pardo'".<ref name="bibliotecadigital.unicamp.br"/>

The American historian Muriel Nazzari specifically pointed out the "pardo" category absorbed those of Native American descent in São Paulo: "This paper seeks to demonstrate that, though many Indians and mestizos did migrate, those who remained in São Paulo came to be classified as pardos"<ref>{{cite journal|title=Vanishing Indians: The Social Construction of Race in Colonial Sao Paulo|first=Muriel|last=Nazzari|date=1 January 2001|volume=57|issue=4|pages=497–524|doi=10.1353/tam.2001.0040|pmid=19522106|journal=The Americas|s2cid=38602651}}</ref>
 
The question about race reappeared in the 1940 census. In this census, "pardo" was not given as an option, but if the answer was different from the options "white", "black" and "yellow", a horizontal line would be drawn into the "color" box. When the census data was tabulated, all responses with horizontal lines were collected into the single category of "pardo". The term "pardo" was not used as an option as an assurance to the public that census data would not be used for discriminatory purposes due to rising South European racist sentiment at the time.<ref name=KertzerArel>{{cite book|title=Census and Identity: The Politics of Race, Ethnicity, and Language in National Censuses|url=https://archive.org/details/censusidentitypo00kert|url-access=limited|author=Dav(id I. Kertzer and Dominique Arel|pages=[https://archive.org/details/censusidentitypo00kert/page/n76 63]&ndash;64|year=2002|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-00427-5}}</ref> In the 1950 census, "pardo" was actually added as a choice of answer.<ref name=KertzerArel /> This trend remains, with the exception of the 1970 census, which also did not ask about race.<ref name=magnoli/>

The 20th century saw a large growth of the ''pardo'' population.<ref name=magnoli/> In 1940, 21.2% of Brazilians were classified as ''pardos''. In 2000, they had increased to 38.5% of the population. This came only partially due to the continuous process of miscegenation. In the 20th century, a growing number of Brazilians who used to self-report as Black in earlier censuses chose to move to the Pardo category. Also a significant part of the population that used to self-report as white also moved to the Pardo category. This indicates not so much a changing of demographics but an evolution of perceptions and ideologies prevalent at each historical moment, and a growing racial and social awareness. [[Demétrio Magnoli|Magnoli]] describes this phenomenon as the ''pardização'' ("pardoization") of Brazil.<ref name=magnoli/>

== Ancestry ==
According to an autosomal DNA study (the autosomal study is about the sum of the ancestors of a person, unlike mtDNA or yDNA haplogroup studies, which cover only one single line), the "pardos" in Rio de Janeiro were found to be predominantly European, at roughly 70% (see table). The geneticist Sérgio Pena criticized foreign scholar Edward Telles for lumping "blacks" and "pardos" in the same category, given the predominantly European ancestry of the "pardos" throughout Brazil. According to him, "the autosomal genetic analysis that we have performed in non-related individuals from Rio de Janeiro shows that it does not make any sense to put "blacks" and "pardos" in the same category".<ref name="laboratoriogene">[http://www.laboratoriogene.com.br/geneImprensa/2009/pensamento.pdf Do pensamento racial ao pensamento racional] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140522233206/http://www.laboratoriogene.com.br/geneImprensa/2009/pensamento.pdf |date=2014-05-22 }}, [http://www.laboratoriogene.com.br/ laboratoriogene.com.br].</ref>

{| class="wikitable floatright"
|+Genomic ancestry of non-related individuals in [[Rio de Janeiro]]<ref name="laboratoriogene" />
|-
!Color||Number of individuals||Amerindian||African||European
|-
|White||107||6.7%||6.9%||86.4%
|-
|Pardo||119||8.3%||23.6%||68.1%
|-
|Black||109||7.3%||50.9%||41.8%
|}

Another autosomal DNA study has confirmed that the European ancestry is dominant throughout in the Brazilian population, regardless of complexion, "pardos" included. "A new portrayal of each ethnic contribution to the DNA of Brazilians, obtained with samples from the five regions of the country, has indicated that, on average, European ancestors are responsible for nearly 80% of the genetic heritage of the population. The variation between the regions is small, with the possible exception of the South, where the European contribution reaches nearly 90%. The results, published by the scientific magazine 'American Journal of Human Biology' by a team from the Catholic University of Brasília, show that, in Brazil, physical indicators such as skin, eye, and hair color have little to do with the genetic ancestry of each person, as has been shown in previous studies".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/folha/ciencia/ult306u633465.shtml|title=Folha Online - Ciência - DNA de brasileiro é 80% europeu, indica estudo - 05/10/2009|access-date=14 May 2015}}</ref> "Ancestry informative SNPs can be useful to estimate individual and population biogeographical ancestry. The Brazilian population is characterized by a genetic background of three parental populations (European, African, and Brazilian Native Amerindians) with a wide degree and diverse patterns of admixture. In this work we analyzed the information content of 28 ancestry-informative SNPs into multiplexed panels using three parental population sources (African, Amerindian, and European) to infer the genetic admixture in an urban sample of the five Brazilian geopolitical regions. The SNPs assigned apart the parental populations from each other and thus can be applied for ancestry estimation in a three hybrid admixed population. Data was used to infer genetic ancestry in Brazilians with an admixture model. Pairwise estimates of F(st) among the five Brazilian geopolitical regions suggested little genetic differentiation only between the South and the remaining regions. Estimates of ancestry results are consistent with the heterogeneous genetic profile of Brazilian population, ''with a major contribution of European ancestry (0.771) followed by African (0.143) and Amerindian contributions (0.085)''. The described multiplexed SNP panels can be useful tool for bio-anthropological studies but it can be mainly valuable to control for spurious results in genetic association studies in admixed populations."<ref name="pmid19639555">{{Cite journal | last1 = Lins | first1 = T. C.| last2 = Vieira | first2 = R. G.| last3 = Abreu | first3 = B. S.| last4 = Grattapaglia | first4 = D.| last5 = Pereira | first5 = R. W.| title = Genetic composition of Brazilian population samples based on a set of twenty-eight ancestry informative SNPs | doi = 10.1002/ajhb.20976 | journal = [[American Journal of Human Biology]]| volume = 22 | issue = 2 | pages = 187–192 | date = March–April 2009 | pmid = 19639555 | s2cid = 205301927| url = https://repositorio.ucb.br:9443/jspui/handle/123456789/7489| doi-access = free }}</ref> It is important to note that "the samples came from free of charge paternity test takers, thus as the researchers made it explicit: "the paternity tests were free of charge, the population samples involved people of variable socioeconomic strata, although ''likely to be leaning slightly towards the ''pardo'' group''".<ref name="pmid19639555"/>

According to another autosomal DNA study conducted on a school in the poor periphery of Rio de Janeiro the "pardos" there were found to be on average over 80% European, and the "whites" (who thought of themselves as "very mixed") were found out to carry very little Amerindian and/or African admixtures. "The results of the tests of genomic ancestry are quite different from the self-made estimates of European ancestry", say the researchers. In general, the test results showed that European ancestry is far more important than the students thought it would be. The "pardos" for example thought of themselves as 1/3 European, 1/3 African and 1/3 Amerindian before the tests, and yet their ancestry was determined to be at over 80% European.<ref>{{Cite web| title=Color, Race, and Genomic Ancestry in Brazil | url=http://www.unl.edu/rhames/courses/current/readings/santos-race-brazil.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019165347/http://www.unl.edu/rhames/courses/current/readings/santos-race-brazil.pdf | archive-date=2013-10-19}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.meionews.com.br/index.php/noticias/21-estado-do-rio/4607-negros-e-pardos-do-rio-tem-mais-genes-europeus-do-que-imaginam-segundo-estudo.html|title=Negros e pardos do Rio têm mais genes europeus do que imaginam, segundo estudo|work=Meio News RJ|access-date=14 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706153557/http://www.meionews.com.br/index.php/noticias/21-estado-do-rio/4607-negros-e-pardos-do-rio-tem-mais-genes-europeus-do-que-imaginam-segundo-estudo.html|archive-date=6 July 2011}}</ref>

An autosomal study from 2011 (with nearly almost 1,000 samples from all over the country, "whites", "pardos" and "blacks") has also concluded that European ancestry is the predominant ancestry in Brazil, accounting for nearly 70% of the ancestry of the population. "In all regions studied, the European ancestry was predominant, with proportions ranging from 60.6% in the Northeast to 77.7% in the South". The "pardos" included were found to be predominantly European in ancestry on average.<ref name="pmid21359226">{{Cite journal | last1 = Pena | first1 = Sérgio D. J.| last2 = Di Pietro | first2 = Giuliano| last3 = Fuchshuber-Moraes | first3 = Mateus| last4 = Genro | first4 = Julia Pasqualini| last5 = Hutz | first5 = Mara H.| last6 = Kehdy | first6 = Fernanda de Souza Gomes| last7 = Kohlrausch | first7 = Fabiana| last8 = Magno | first8 = Luiz Alexandre Viana| last9 = Montenegro | first9 = Raquel Carvalho| last10 = Moraes | first10 = Manoel Odorico| last11 = de Moraes | first11 = Maria Elisabete Amaral| last12 = de Moraes | first12 = Milene Raiol| last13 = Ojopi | first13 = Élida B.| last14 = Perini | first14 = Jamila A.| last15 = Racciopi | first15 = Clarice| last16 = Ribeiro-dos-Santos | first16 = Ândrea Kely Campos| last17 = Rios-Santos | first17 = Fabrício| last18 = Romano-Silva | first18 = Marco A.| last19 = Sortica | first19 = Vinicius A.| last20 = Suarez-Kurtz | first20 = Guilherme| editor1-last = Harpending | editor1-first = Henry | title = The Genomic Ancestry of Individuals from Different Geographical Regions of Brazil is More Uniform Than Expected | doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0017063 | journal = [[PLoS ONE]]| volume = 6 | issue = 2 | article-number = e17063 | year = 2011 | pmid = 21359226| pmc = 3040205| bibcode = 2011PLoSO...617063P| doi-access = free}}</ref> The 2011 autosomal study samples came from blood donors (the lowest classes constitute the great majority of blood donors in Brazil<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.amigodoador.com.br/estatisticas.html|title=Profile of the Brazilian blood donor|access-date=27 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120502213529/http://www.amigodoador.com.br/estatisticas.html|archive-date=2 May 2012}}</ref>), and also public health institutions personnel and health students.

{{div flex row}}
{| class="wikitable"
|+Genomic ancestry of individuals in [[Porto Alegre]] Sérgio Pena et al. 2011 .<ref name="pmid21359226"/>
|-
!Color||Amerindian||African||European
|-
|White||9.3%||5.3%||85.5%
|-
|Pardo||15.4%||42.4%||42.2%
|-
|Black||11%||45.9%||43.1%
|-
|Total||9.6%||12.7%||77.7%
|}
{| class="wikitable" 
|+Genomic ancestry of individuals in [[Ilhéus]] Sérgio Pena et al. 2011 .<ref name="pmid21359226"/>
|-
!Color||Amerindian||African||European
|-
|White||8.8%||24.4%||66.8%
|-
|Pardo||11.9%||28.8%||59.3%
|-
|Black||10.1%||35.9%||53.9%
|-
|Total||9.1%||30.3%||60.6%
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+Genomic ancestry of individuals in [[Belém]] Sérgio Pena et al. 2011 .<ref name="pmid21359226"/>
|-
!Color||Amerindian||African||European
|-
|White||14.1%||7.7%||78.2%
|-
|Pardo||20.9%||10.6%||68.6%
|-
|Black||20.1%||27.5%||52.4%
|-
|Total||19.4%||10.9%||69.7%
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+Genomic ancestry of individuals in [[Fortaleza]] Sérgio Pena et al. 2011 .<ref name="pmid21359226"/>
!Color||Amerindian||African||European
|-
|White||10.9%||13.3%||75.8%
|-
|Pardo||12.8%||14.4%||72.8%
|-
|Black||N.S.||N.S.||N.S
|}
{{Div flex row end}}

==History==
[[File:A Fundação da Pátria Brasileira (Eduardo Sá, 1899).jpg|thumb|''The Founding of the Brazilian Fatherland'', a 1899 allegorical painting depicting statesman [[José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva]], one of the founding fathers of the country, with the [[Flag of Brazil#Empire of Brazil (1822–1889)|Brazilian imperial flag]] and three major ethnic groups in Brazil]]
The formation of the Brazilian people is characterized by the mixing of whites, blacks and Indians.<ref name=Freyre>Freyre, Gilberto. ''Casa-Grande e Senzala'', Edition. 51, 2006.</ref> According to geneticist Sérgio Pena, "with the exception of immigrants of first or second generation, there is no Brazilian who does not carry a bit of African and Amerindian genetic".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ufcg.edu.br/prt_ufcg/assessoria_imprensa/mostra_noticia.php?codigo=5289 |title=UFCG - UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DE CAMPINA GRANDE-PB|access-date=14 May 2015}}</ref> "The correlation between color and genomic ancestry is imperfect: at the individual level one cannot safely predict the skin color of a person from his/her level of European, African and Amerindian ancestry nor the opposite. Regardless of their skin color, the overwhelming majority of Brazilians have a high degree of European ancestry. Also, regardless of their skin color, the overwhelming majority of Brazilians have a significant degree of African ancestry. Finally, most Brazilians have a significant and very uniform degree of Amerindian ancestry.

The high ancestral variability observed in whites and blacks suggests that each Brazilian has a singular and quite individual proportion of European, African and Amerindian ancestry in his/her mosaic genomes" (geneticist Sérgio Pena).<ref>{{cite journal|title=Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research - DNA tests probe the genomic ancestry of Brazilians|journal=Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research|volume=42|issue=10|pages=870–876|doi=10.1590/S0100-879X2009005000026|pmid=19738982|year=2009|last1=Pena|first1=S.D.J.|last2=Bastos-Rodrigues|first2=L.|last3=Pimenta|first3=J.R.|last4=Bydlowski|first4=S.P.|doi-access=free}}</ref> The colonization of Brazil was characterized by a small proportion of women among the initial settlers.<ref name=Ribeiro>RIBEIRO, Darcy. O Povo Brasileiro, Companhia de Bolso, fourth reprint, 2008 (2008).</ref> As there was a male predominance in the European contingent present in Brazil, most [[sexual partner]]s of those settlers were, initially, Amerindian or African women, and, later, mixed-race women.<ref name=Ribeiro/> This sexual asymmetry is marked on the genetics of the Brazilian people, regardless of skin color: there is a predominance of European Y chromosomes, and of Amerindian and African mtDNA.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Carvalho-Silva DR, Santos FR, Rocha J, Pena SD |title=The Phylogeography of Brazilian Y-Chromosome Lineages|journal=Am J Hum Genet |pages=281–86 |volume=68|issue=1|year=2001 |pmid=11090340 |pmc=1234928 |doi=10.1086/316931}}</ref> Haplogroup frequencies do not determine phenotype nor admixture. They are very general genetic snapshots, primarily useful in examining past population group migratory patterns. Only autosomal DNA testing can reveal admixture structures, since it analyzes millions of alleles from both maternal and paternal sides. Contrary to yDNA or mtDNA, which are focused on one single lineage (paternal or maternal) the autosomal DNA studies profile the whole ancestry of a given individual, being more accurate in describing the complex patterns of ancestry in a given place. In the Brazilian "white" and "pardos" the autosomal ancestry (the sum of the ancestors of a given individual) tends to be largely European, with often a non-European mtDNA (which points to a non-European ancestor somewhere up the maternal line), which is explained by the women marrying newly arrived colonists, during the formation of the Brazilian people.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.laboratoriogene.com.br/?area=genealogiaAncestralidadeDiferenca|title=Laboratório GENE - Núcleo de Genética Médica|author=Desenvolvimento: Ronnan del Rey|access-date=14 May 2015}}</ref>

In the first century of colonization, there was interbreeding between Portuguese males and Amerindian females in Brazil. However, the Amerindian population was decimated by epidemics, wars and slavery.<ref name=Ribeiro/> Since 1550, African slaves began to be brought to Brazil in large numbers. Miscegenation between Portuguese males and African females was common. European and Asiatic immigrants who came to Brazil in the 19th and 20th centuries (Portuguese, Italians, Spaniards, Germans, Arab, Japanese, etc.) also participated in the process. Among many of the immigrant groups in Brazil, there was a large predominance of men.

In all Brazilian regions, European, African and Amerindian genetic markers are found in the local populations, even though the proportion of each varies from region to region and from individual to individual.<ref name="pmid21359226"/> However, most regions showed basically the same structure, a greater European contribution to the population, followed by African and Native American contributions: "Some people had the vision Brazil was a heterogeneous mosaic. ... Our study proves Brazil is a lot more integrated than some expected".<ref name="pmid21359226" /> Brazilian homogeneity is, therefore, greater within regions than between them:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!'''Region<ref name="pmid21359226" />'''
!'''European'''
!'''African'''
!'''Native American'''
|-
| [[Northern Brazil]]
| 68.80%
| 10.50%
| 18.50%
|-
| [[Northeast of Brazil]]
| 60.10%
| 29.30%
| 8.90%
|-
| [[Southeast Brazil]]
| 74.20%
| 17.30%
| 7.30%
|-
| [[Southern Brazil]]
| 79.50%
| 10.30%
| 9.40%
|}

An autosomal study from 2013, with nearly 1,300 samples from all of the Brazilian regions, found a pred. degree of European ancestry combined with African and Native American contributions, in varying degrees. 'Following an increasing North to South gradient, European ancestry was the most prevalent in all urban populations (with values up to 74%). The populations in the North consisted of a significant proportion of Native American ancestry that was about two times higher than the African contribution. Conversely, in the Northeast, Center-West and Southeast, African ancestry was the second most prevalent. At an intrapopulation level, all urban populations were highly admixed, and most of the variation in ancestry proportions was observed between individuals within each population rather than among population'.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Saloum de Neves Manta F, etal |title=Revisiting the genetic ancestry of Brazilians using autosomal AIM-Indels. |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=8 |issue=9 |year=2013 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0075145 |pmid=24073242 |article-number=e75145 |pmc=3779230|bibcode=2013PLoSO...875145S |doi-access=free }}</ref>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
!'''Region'''
!'''European'''
!'''African'''
!'''Native American'''
|-
| [[North Region, Brazil|North Region]]
| 51%
| 17%
| 32%
|-
| [[Northeast Region, Brazil|Northeast Region]]
| 56%
| 28%
| 16%
|-
| [[Central-West Region, Brazil|Central-West Region]]
| 58%
| 26%
| 16%
|-
| [[Southeast Region, Brazil|Southeast Region]]
| 61%
| 27%
| 12%
|-
| [[South Region, Brazil|South Region]]
| 74%
| 15%
| 11%
|}

A 2015 autosomal genetic study, which analyzed data of 25 studies of 38 different Brazilian populations concluded that European ancestry accounts for 62% of the heritage of the population, followed by the African (21%) and the Native American (17%). The European contribution is highest in Southern Brazil (77%), the African highest in Northeast Brazil (27%) and the Native American is the highest in Northern Brazil (32%).<ref name="pmid25820814">{{cite journal |journal=American Journal of Human Biology |title=Meta-analysis of Brazilian genetic admixture and comparison with other Latin America countries |year=2015 |volume=27 |issue=5 |vauthors=Rodrigues de Moura R, Coelho AV, de Queiroz Balbino V, Crovella S, Brandão LA |pmid=25820814 |doi=10.1002/ajhb.22714 |pages=674–80|hdl=11368/2837176 |s2cid=25051722 |url=http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajhb.v27.5/issuetoc |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!'''Region'''<ref name="pmid25820814" />
!'''European'''
!'''African'''
!'''Native American'''
|-
| [[North Region, Brazil|North Region]]
| 51%
| 16%
| 32%
|-
| [[Northeast Region, Brazil|Northeast Region]]
| 58%
| 27%
| 15%
|-
| [[Central-West Region, Brazil|Central-West Region]]
| 64%
| 24%
| 12%
|-
| [[Southeast Region, Brazil|Southeast Region]]
|67%
|23%
|10%
|-
| [[South Region, Brazil|South Region]]
| 77%
| 12%
| 11%
|}

Not all descendants of this mixture of peoples are included in the "pardo" category. Since racial classifications in Brazil are based on phenotype, rather than ancestry, a large part of the self-reported white population has African and Amerindian ancestors, as well as a great part of the Black population has large European and Native American contributions.<ref name=Telles>{{cite book|pages=[https://archive.org/details/raceinanotherame0000tell/page/81 81&ndash;84]|title=Race in Another America: the significance of skin color in Brazil|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/raceinanotherame0000tell|chapter-url-access=registration|author=Edward Eric Telles|chapter=Racial Classification|year=2004|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-0-691-11866-6|url=https://archive.org/details/raceinanotherame0000tell/page/81}}</ref> Besides skin color, there are social factors that influence the racial classifications in Brazil, such as [[social class]], [[wealth]], racial prejudice and stigma of being Black, Mulatto or Amerindian.<ref name=Ribeiro/>

The following are the results for the different Brazilian censuses, since 1872:

{{Race and ethnicity in Brazil}}

==Important or famous Pardo Brazilians==

===Politics===
[[File:Nilo Peçanha 02.jpg|thumb|179x179px|Nilo Peçanha is considered Brazil's first pardo president, assuming the presidency in 1909.]]
According to africanologist [[Alberto da Costa e Silva]], many mixed-race politicians were perceived as white due to being part of the elite, including presidents [[Nilo Peçanha]], [[Rodrigues Alves]], and [[Washington Luís]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.palmares.gov.br/?p=3076|title = O Brasil já teve seu "Obama"}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://clas.berkeley.edu/research/democracy-puzzling-whiteness-brazilian-politicans|title=DEMOCRACY: The Puzzling Whiteness of Brazilian Politics|work=Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS)|access-date=14 May 2015|date=2013-07-23}}</ref><ref name="Beattie">[https://archive.org/details/tributeofbloodar0000beat BEATTIE, Peter M. The Tribute of Blood: Army, Honor, Race, and Nation in Brazil, 1864–1945. Duke University Press, 2001]. {{ISBN|0-8223-2743-0}}, {{ISBN|978-0-8223-2743-1}}. pp. 7. (visited 3 September 2008)</ref><ref name="giffin">[https://www.jstor.org/pss/2511892 GIFFIN, Donald W. The Hispanic American Historical Review, Vol. 44, No. 3 (Aug., 1964), pp. 437–439]. Review of TINOCO, Brígido. A vida de Nilo Peçanha. Coleção Documentos Brasileiros, Livraria José Olympio Editora, RJ, 1962. (visited 3 September 2008)</ref> Another president, [[Fernando Henrique Cardoso]], also had some African ancestry and described himself as "slightly mulatto". He allegedly once said that he had "''a foot in the kitchen''" (a nod to 19th century Brazilian domestic slavery).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/category,COI,MARP,,,469f386e130,0.html|title=Refworld - Chronology for Afro-Brazilians in Brazil|author=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|work=Refworld|access-date=14 May 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://almanaque.folha.uol.com.br/brasil_01jun1994.htm|title=Banco de Dados Folha - Acervo de Jornais|access-date=14 May 2015}}</ref>

Since the end of the military dictatorship, the political participation of pardos has increased. Minister [[Marina Silva]] is a descendant of [[Portuguese Brazilian|Portuguese]] and [[Afro-Brazilian|black African]] ancestors in both her maternal and paternal lines.<ref>[http://revistaepoca.globo.com/Revista/Epoca/0,,EMI88634-15223,00.html Marina Silva deixa o PT] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190124023657/http://revistaepoca.globo.com/Revista/Epoca/0,,EMI88634-15223,00.html |date=24 January 2019 }} {{in lang|pt}}</ref>

===Arts, entertainment and sports===

Many important names of Brazilian literature are or have been pardos. [[Machado de Assis]], generally considered the most important Brazilian writer of fiction, was himself "pardo". Other remarkable writer includes [[Lima Barreto]] (a novelist, master of satire and sarcasm, and pioneer of social criticism).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://escritores.folha.com.|title=Lima Barreto: Um escritor de triste fim|publisher=Escritores.folha.com.br|date=1970-01-01|access-date=May 13, 2020}}{{dead link|date=February 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

Other remarkable artists include Father [[José Maurício Nunes Garcia]]<ref>Ricardo Bernardes. [http://www.dc.mre.gov.br/imagens-e-textos/revista-textos-do-brasil/portugues/revista12-mat5.pdf José Maurício Nunes Garcia e a Real Capela de D. João VI no Rio de Janeiro] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120405221152/http://www.dc.mre.gov.br/imagens-e-textos/revista-textos-do-brasil/portugues/revista12-mat5.pdf |date=2012-04-05 }}. p. 42.</ref> (a baroque conductor and composer), and [[Aleijadinho]] (an outstanding sculptor and architect)<ref>Domingos Tavares. [http://ler.letras.up.pt/uploads/ficheiros/6130.pdf Sensibilidade e cultura na obra arquitectónica do Aleijadinho]. p. 120.</ref> attained high prestige as artists.

Examples of pardos in popular music include [[Chiquinha Gonzaga]] and [[Lupicínio Rodrigues]].<ref>Gilberto Ferreira da Silva et alli. RS negro: cartografias sobre a produção do conhecimento [https://books.google.com/books?id=kmnrjieFX08C&pg=PA111 p. 111].</ref>

Pardos in [[Association football|football]] include [[Ronaldo (Brazilian footballer)|Ronaldo]], popularly dubbed "the phenomenon", is considered by experts and fans to be one of the greatest football players of all time.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2011/feb/14/ronaldo-retires-brazil-real-madrid-internazionale "Ronaldo: In his pomp, he was a footballing force close to unstoppable"]. The Guardian. Retrieved 3 August 2014</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tea20qaiYl4 "Zidane talks about Ronaldo"]. CNN Interview. Retrieved 3 August 2014</ref><ref name="FIFA Profile">{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20131206030018/http://www.fifa.com/classicfootball/players/player=92699/ "Ronaldo, a phenomenon in every sense"]}}. FIFA.com. Retrieved 13 May 2013</ref>

== ''Moreno'' ==
In daily usage, Brazilians use the ambiguous<ref>Edward Telles. [https://archive.org/details/raceinanotherame0000tell <!-- quote=moreno. --> Race in another America: the significance of skin color in Brazil]. p. 82: "Ethnographers have found the term ambiguous enough to substitute for almost any other color category."</ref> term ''moreno'', a word that means "dark-skinned", "dark-haired", "tawny", "swarthy", "Brown" (when referring to people), "suntanned".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://en.bab.la/dictionary/portuguese-english/moreno.html|title=moreno - English translation - bab.la Portuguese-English dictionary|access-date=14 May 2015}}</ref> ''Moreno'' is often used as an intermediate color category, similar to ''pardo'', but its meaning is significantly broader, including people who self-identify as black, white, yellow or Amerindian in the IBGE classification system.<ref>Edward Telles. [https://archive.org/details/raceinanotherame0000tell <!-- quote=moreno. --> Race in another America: the significance of skin color in Brazil]. p. 87.</ref> In a 1995 survey, 32% of the population self-identified as "moreno", with a further 6% self-identifying as "moreno claro" ("light brown"), and 7% self-identified as "pardo". Telles describes both classifications as "biologically invalid", but sociologically significant.<ref name=Telles/>

== Demographics ==
{| class="wikitable" style="float: right;"
|-
! colspan="8" |Pardo Brazilians 1872-2022
|- 
! Year
! Population
! <small>% of<br />Brazil</small>
|-
||'''1872'''||3,801,782||{{steady}} 38.28%
|-
||'''1890'''||4,638,496||{{decrease}} 32.36%
|-
||'''1940'''||8,744,365||{{decrease}} 21.21%
|-
||'''1950'''||13,786,742||{{increase}} 26.54%
|-
||'''1960'''||20,706,431||{{increase}} 29.50%
|-
||'''1980'''||46,233,531||{{increase}} 38.85%
|-
||'''1991'''||62,316,064||{{increase}} 42.45%
|-
||'''2000'''||65,318,092||{{decrease}} 38.45%	
|-
||'''2010'''||82,277,333||{{increase}} 43.13%
|-
||'''2022'''||92,083,286||{{increase}} 45.34%
|-
| colspan="8" style="text-align:left;" |<small>Source: Brazilian census<ref name=":5" /<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tabela 9605: População residente, por cor ou raça, nos Censos Demográficos |url=https://sidra.ibge.gov.br/tabela/9605#resultado |access-date=2024-01-11 |website=sidra.ibge.gov.br}}</ref></small>
|}

=== By region ===

The [[Regions of Brazil|Brazilian regions]] by percent of ''pardo'' people.

2022 data:<ref name=":5" /<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tabela 9605: População residente, por cor ou raça, nos Censos Demográficos |url=https://sidra.ibge.gov.br/tabela/9605#resultado |access-date=2024-01-11 |website=sidra.ibge.gov.br}}</ref>

*1) [[North Region, Brazil|North]] – 67.2% of ''pardos''
*2) [[Northeast Region, Brazil|Northeast]] – 59.6%
*3) [[Central-West Region, Brazil|Central-West]] – 52.4%
*4) [[Southeast Region, Brazil|Southeast]] – 38.7%
*5) [[South Region, Brazil|South]] – 21.7%

=== By state ===

[[File:Pardos no Brasil 2009.png|thumb|right|300px|Brazilian States according to percentage of Pardos in 2009.]]

According to IBGE's data for 2022,<ref name=":5" /<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tabela 9605: População residente, por cor ou raça, nos Censos Demográficos |url=https://sidra.ibge.gov.br/tabela/9605#resultado |access-date=2024-01-11 |website=sidra.ibge.gov.br}}</ref> of the ten states with greatest percentual ''pardo'' population, five were in the North and five in the Northeast.

*1) [[Pará]] – 69.9%
*2) [[Amazonas (Brazilian state)|Amazonas]] – 68.8%
*3) [[Maranhão]] – 66.4%
*4) [[Acre (state)|Acre]] – 66.3%
*5) [[Amapá]] – 65.3%
*6) [[Piauí]] – 64.8%
*7) [[Ceará]] – 64.7%
*8) [[Tocantins]] – 62.1%
*9) [[Sergipe]] – 61.6%
*10) [[Alagoas]] – 60.4%

Between 2000 and 2010, the states of [[Goiás]], [[Minas Gerais]] and [[Espírito Santo]], together with the [[Federal District (Brazil)|Federal District]] moved to the group of majority nonwhite states, of which ''pardos'' are very likely to be the new majority if trends continue as they perform the greatest nonwhite group in all Brazilian states. The next to be [[Minority-majority state|minority-majority]] is probably [[Mato Grosso do Sul]] (51.78% white), followed by [[Rio de Janeiro (state)|Rio de Janeiro]] (54.25% white). The four southernmost states were all >70% white in the 20th century, nevertheless in the last 2010 census [[São Paulo (state)|São Paulo]] turned to be almost exactly 70.0% white, and according to the contemporary demographic trends it is likely to be less than 70% now.

It should be pointed out that self-identification and ancestry do not correlate well in Brazil. A predominantly self-identified "pardo" state like [[Goiás]] turned out to be mostly European in ancestry according to an autosomal study from the UnB undertaken in 2008. According to that study, the ancestral composition of Goiás is 83,70% European, 13,30% African and 3,0% Native American.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bdtd.bce.unb.br/tedesimplificado/tde_busca/arquivo.php?codArquivo=3873|title=Untitled Document|access-date=14 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706162307/http://bdtd.bce.unb.br/tedesimplificado/tde_arquivos/36/TDE-2008-08-21T100337Z-3085/Publico/2008_NeideMOGodinho.pdf|archive-date=6 July 2011}}</ref>

In [[Fortaleza]], for example, both "whites" and "pardos" displayed a similar ancestral composition, according to a 2011 autosomal study: a predominant degree of European ancestry (>70%) was found out, with minor but important African and Native American contributions.<ref name="pmid21359226" />

=== By municipality ===
IBGE's data for 2000.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sidra.ibge.gov.br/bda/tabela/listabl1.asp?c=2112&n=0&u=0&z=cd&o=7&i=P|title=Sistema IBGE de Recuperação Automática - SIDRA|access-date=14 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924101941/http://www.sidra.ibge.gov.br/bda/tabela/listabl1.asp?c=2112&n=0&u=0&z=cd&o=7&i=P|archive-date=24 September 2015}}</ref> Of the ten municipalities with the greatest percentual ''pardo'' population, eight were in the Northeast and two in the North.

*1) [[Nossa Senhora das Dores, Sergipe|Nossa Senhora das Dores]] (Sergipe) – 98.16% of ''pardos''
*2) [[Santo Inácio do Piauí]] (Piauí) – 96.90%
*3) [[Boa Vista do Ramos]] (Amazonas) – 92.40%
*4) [[Belágua]] (Maranhão) – 90.85%
*5) [[Itacuruba]] (Pernambuco) – 90.05%
*6) [[Monte Alegre de Sergipe]] (Sergipe) – 90.03%
*7) [[Pracuuba]] (Amapá) – 89.99%
*8) [[Ipubi]] (Pernambuco) – 89.93%
*9) [[Floresta do Piauí]] (Piauí) – 89.37%
*10) [[Pinhão, Sergipe|Pinhão]] (Sergipe) – 87.51%

==See also==
*[[Amazonian Jews]]
*[[Brown (racial classification)]]
*[[Caboclo]]s
*[[Cafuzo]]s
*[[Caiçaras]]
*[[Coloureds]]
*[[Mameluco]]s
*[[Mestiço]]s
*[[Kalungas]]
*[[Pardo]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Ancestry and ethnicity in Brazil}}
{{Portuguese diaspora}}

[[Category:African–Native American relations]]
[[Category:Ethnonyms]]
[[Category:Multiracial affairs in Brazil]]
[[Category:Race in Brazil]]
[[Category:Person of color]]