Louisiana Creole people (also called Louisiana French Creoles, French Creoles, or, simply, Creoles) are persons descended from the colonial settlers of Louisiana of French and to a lesser extent, Spanish descent. It also came to be applied to African descended slaves born in Louisiana. The term creole was originally used by French settlers to distinguish persons born in Louisiana from those born in the mother country or elsewhere. As in many other colonial societies around the world, creole was a term used to mean those who were "native-born".