Mantuano

Mantuano is a denomination assigned, first in Caracas and later in the rest of Venezuela, to the blancos criollos (white creole) belonging to the local aristocracy.^[1][2] The term was in use from the 18th century until well into the 19th century.^[1] The mantuanos hardly surpassed a hundred heads of family by the end of the 18th century.^[1]

The mantuanos were also called "grandes cacaos", because they became rich with the cultivation and commercialization of cocoa.^[2] They were also called blancos criollos.^[3] The name blanco criollo only indicates that a person was born in America and was a descendant of Spaniards, while the word mantuano refers to members of the local elite.^[3] Other whites who also had the same birthplace and ancestry of Spanish origin, such as the blancos de orilla, were not part of the mantuano circle.