rich with the cultivation and commercialization of cocoa. They were also called blancos criollos. 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. 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.

Origin of the term