 Although Spaniards are referred to as "Kastila", from the name "Castile", the vast majority are Andalusians, and a minority are Catalans or Basques.During the Spanish Colonial Period, large numbers of Spaniards settled in the Americas, which resulted in widespread miscegenation between them, indigenous women and enslaved African women.The Spanish authorities developed and established a highly complex caste system based on a racial hierarchy of Spanish descent, which later became associated with "whiteness".