The
Kristang (otherwise known as "Portuguese-Eurasians" or "Malacca Portuguese") are a
creole ethnic group of people of mixed
Portuguese and
Malaccan descent based in
Malaysia and
Singapore. People of this ethnicity have, besides Portuguese, a strong
Dutch heritage, as well as some
British,
Chinese and
Indian heritage due to intermarriages, which is common among the Kristang. In addition to this due to the Portuguese Inquisition in the region a lot of the Jews of Malacca assimilated into the Kristang community. The creole group arose in
Malacca (
Malaysia) between the 16th and 17th centuries, when the city was a port and base of the
Portuguese Empire. Some descendants speak a distinctive
Kristang language or Malacca Portuguese, a
creole based on
Portuguese. Today the government classifies them as Portuguese Eurasians.