Cocolo is a term used in the Spanish-speaking Caribbean to refer to non-Hispanic African descendants, or darker skinned people in general. The term originated in the Dominican Republic, and was historically used to refer to the Anglophone and Francophone Caribbean descendants. Namely the Cocolos of San Pedro de Macorís, Puerto Plata, the Samaná Peninsula, and other Afro-descendants who lived in coastal areas and were culturally distinct from the lighter Dominicans who primarily lived in the interior of the country.