Dear Sirs:

Continental Portuguese are White European, plain and simple. By virtue of language and culture Portuguese people are Latin, but hardly Latino or Hispanic.

Genetically, continental native / indigenous Portuguese are primarily a combination of Celtic, Roman, Visigoth, Suevi with a minor ad-mixture of Berber and Arab (mainly found in the southern part of the country, Azores and Madeira).

If you are from the Azores or Madeira you are White European as well. The majority of people from the islands originated from the Alentejo and Algarve and some from Flanders and parts of France. There was a small non European ad-mixture in the 15th and 16th, but it was hardly significant enough to change the ethnic / racial make-up of the islands.

There are small groups of people in Portugal who do not share the Lusitanian genetic and cultural background, but such people are quite few. Some are mixed, distant descendants of Black Africans or Gypsy groups. Others are immigrants originating from Brazil, Eastern Europe, Africa and parts of Asia.

Simply put, we Portuguese are White European with a Latin culture. We are also Iberian, but hardly Hispanic.
Henry Avis

U.S. Census Bureau does not consider Portuguese to be Hispanic
Portugal is not Hispanic. I did study in Lisbon, and the way the Portuguese see themselves is as White/European. There is many factual evidence of it too. The misunderstanding steems from the fact that Portuguese is a Latin Language, and so is French, Italian and Spanish.

This report should be revised and corrected. It is unpleasant and makes little sense.

My grandfather name on by mother side was DE Andrade on my father side there name was Reposa.



Brazilian or Hispanic
If the question is even asked as to whether Portuguese or Hispanic, then we have to start off with the acknowledgement that the question is an American one, because the term Hispanic when used in comparison to Portuguese, can only relate to the difference between what are perceived as "Latinos" and the other races.
(Click to read the rest of the letter)
Hispanic or Portuguese

Yesterday, I suggested to those that misrepresent the Portuguese that they should use the US Census Bureau as a resource for the right classification. However, if you want a quick resource, please search for "Hispanic" on google and go to the WIkipedia link (The Free Encyclopedia) and you will notice world pap of Hispanic countries, Portugal is not one of them.

It is sad that some People of Portuguese descent misrepresent themselves. It is also sad that some Portuguese want to have it both ways in the aspect that want to consider themselves as a minority so that their business may receive government funds and then want to be classified as "White" or "Caucasian" for other purposes which they really are. This contradiction will confuse others and it is our fault. We should not have it both ways. Just consider yourself Portuguese and European and not "Hispanic".

Helena Lopes

"Failing to See The Whole Picture" by Paulo DaCosta
You know I read all of the comments and I just have to say this is depressing to me. It really makes me want to move out of America. I am a Portuguese, Spanish, Irish and Native American mix and am very offended by the way people are arguing about a culture. Most sadly my mom's culture. Why can't we just be Portuguese if we are Portuguese. Who cares if we don't fit into a category? I would rather check off other than be ridiculed for not knowing what I am in America's eye's. This is truely sad. Why should I care what the American government wants to categorize me as. If you are from Latin America then you should show the Portuguese love because if it wasn't for Magellan then you wouldn't exist. I look at all Latin Americans as cousins. And I definately consider Spain as a sibling country. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck it is a duck. And we certainly have similarities regaurdless of a stupid American census poll. Can't we all just get along?

A fellow portuguese;
Racheal Smith











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  • Updated:
    November 18, 2011