Marriage, Family, and Ethnicity in the Early Spanish Caribbean

Anthropological genetic insights on Caribbean population history

“…78,95 Although European women participated in these migrations-traveling alone or as part of family units-European men far outnumbered them. 96 In general, European migration to the Antilles during the colonial period was motivated, shaped, and structured by imperial expansion policies, political relations between colonial states, the requirements of plantation labor, and colonial norms and regulations on inter-ethnic unions. 78,94,96 These social factors and policies influenced who migrated to the Antilles, where they settled, who they started families with and how these families contributed to the biocultural diversity of creole Caribbean communities.…”

“…11,12,80 This sex-biased pattern reflects the unequal gender relations of Caribbean slave societies, where manysometimes coerced-unions took place between European men and Indigenous or African women. 96,97 However, although most Caribbean populations share this pattern of sex-biased admixture, paternally inherited European ancestry is heterogeneously distributed. 98 While some populations, such as Cubans and Puerto Ricans carry between 80% and 85% European paternal ancestries, 49,50 others, such as Afro-Caribbean populations in the Lesser Antilles carry much less, between 30% and 40% (Figure 3; Table A1).…”

“…In the ensuing decades, many Europeans arrived as settlers, mercenaries, and missionaries, but others, especially from the British Isles and Scotland, arrived as indentured servants or contract laborers 78,95 . Although European women participated in these migrations—traveling alone or as part of family units—European men far outnumbered them 96 . In general, European migration to the Antilles during the colonial period was motivated, shaped, and structured by imperial expansion policies, political relations between colonial states, the requirements of plantation labor, and colonial norms and regulations on inter‐ethnic unions 78,94,96 .…”

“…In most admixed Caribbean populations European ancestry is disproportionately enriched in paternally inherited loci such as the Y‐chromosome, while Indigenous American and African ancestry are found at higher frequencies in maternally inherited mtDNA and X‐chromosome loci 11,12,80 . This sex‐biased pattern reflects the unequal gender relations of Caribbean slave societies, where many—sometimes coerced—unions took place between European men and Indigenous or African women 96,97 . However, although most Caribbean populations share this pattern of sex‐biased admixture, paternally inherited European ancestry is heterogeneously distributed 98 .…”