The English word Latino (Latina is the feminine form) may have derived from the Spanish word latinoamericano and most often refers to inhabitants of Latin America, and their descendants in the United States. It is the abbreviated use of 'Latin-American'; Francophone Canadians are not normally referred to as Latino, even though they speak a Romance language. A Latino person may be of any race ( Amerindian,White, Black, Asian or Mixed, such as Mestizo, Mulatto or Zambo).
The concept of "Latin America" was coined by the French in the 1800s as a means of legitimizing French influence over the Spanish-speaking countries of the Americas; compare Latin Europe. Napoleon III, cited Amérique Latine and Indochine as goals for expansion during his reign. He proposed the Monarchy in Mexico headed by the Austrian Archduke Maximillian or Maximilian I of Mexico. The term emphasized a common culture and history of the Romance language-speaking countries, as opposed to the Germanic language-speaking countries of "Anglo-America".