An octoroon or mustee is the offspring of a quadroon and a European parent, having ancestry that is one-eighth Negroid. This term is considered obsolete and is no longer in general use.
This was part of a race classification used in the Spanish and French colonies in the New World, and to some extent also used in the Southern United States in the 19th century. Octoroons were considered "colored" and often subject to slavery in the colonial era, but sometimes given more privileges than slaves with a greater degree of African ancestry. The child of an octoroon and a white person was referred to as a quintroon. Homer Plessy was a famous octoroon.
See also
Last updated: 08-11-2005 07:14:27
