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I took the Ancestry DNA test and I found out I am 16% Europe South.
Europe South includes Northern and Southern Italy as well as Sicily and Greece with some of Albania and Turkey.
I would love to claim Italian heritage and there is nothing more I would like to do than wear a sweater that says "Italia" and rep Italy 100 percent, and this of course is fitting since I live in New Jersey.
However I really want to make sure I am Italian. I am Puerto Rican and Peruvian. I read about the Royal Decree of Graces in 1815 which ensured immigration from European countries to suppress African slaves to revolt like what was happening in neighboring countries by giving these Europeans free land and economic incentives to live in Puerto Rico. Some of the countries included were Great Britain (I am also British by the way, a whopping 7 percent), Ireland, Italy, France, and Portugal. Greeks were not included, as far as I recall. And this makes sense since Greeks had to make an allegiance to the Spanish Crown and the Church, which I will get to later on.
There are also millions of Peruvians of Italian descent and most are mixed.
By contrast, I read there were only 50,000 Greeks that arrived to Latin America and many if not most settled in Argentina and Brazil.
My family is also Roman Catholic and Greeks, as well as Turks and Albanians are mostly non-Catholic whereas most Italians. This is also why I do not suppose Greeks would come to Puerto Rico under the Royal Decree of Graces where they had to plead allegiance to the Church, because most are Orthodox Christian and not Roman Catholics.
Since there is very little chance that I am Greek, let alone Albanian and Turkish, I just tell people I am part Italian when I tell them the DNA results or that I am most likely Italian. It still frustrates me that I don't know Europe South country I am. I am also Iberian so that cancels out Spain and Portugal.
Which brings me to another point. I am 41% European and I thought most of my European would be Spanish. However I am mostly Europe South and British combine with some Spanish. I didn't know my Spanish would be so low and other European ancestries would be so high. In fact I didn't even know I had any other European in me besides Spanish.
I'm similar at Ancestry. Upload to the free sites starting with my heritage. It will probably show Italian and not Greek like me
Ok, need to clear some stuff up here. I'm a Catholic, my wife and kids are Orthodox, so here it goes.
The Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church are NOT the same organization. They split in the 11th century......a loooong time ago. Membership in one DOES NOT equal membership in the other. As a practicing Catholic I am NOT part of my wife's church and can not take Communion there (excepting extraordinary circumstances and approved by leadership in both churches, long story, can explain more if necessary.) Likewise my wife and kids CAN NOT take the sacraments in the Catholic Church (excepting extraordinary circumstances.)
Our priesthoods have different rules, our hierarchy is different, we have different canons of saints, although those before the 11th century are normally common to both churches.
The confusion could be because there are GREEK CATHOLICS. This Church is under the umbrella of the greater Catholic Church and in communion with the Pope. These GREEK CATHOLICS have the Divine Liturgy like their Orthodox brethren, also have priests who can marry, but are considered CATHOLIC because of their recognition of the Pope. If a GREEK CATHOLIC wishes to attend a Roman Catholic service, they can receive the sacraments, and vice versa.
I'll be happy to explain the differences in further detail if anyone wants, so long as it doesn't hijack the thread. On that note, I wouldn't be too surprised to find out Greeks went to Puerto Rico, but it is not something I have ever heard about.
I have always thought I’m 50% Swedish, 25% English, and 25% Norwegian. I’ve traced my ancestry back to those countries until the language barrier stopped me. My DNA was close, but left a percentage of about 14% Northern European. Now, I’m curious about that, but stumped as to how to figure out who came to England or Scandinavia from somewhere else. Maybe I never will.
Europe South used to be referred to as "Italy/Greece". Then ancestry changed the name.
For me, I'm 49% Europe South and I know exactly what country in that area where my maternal grandparents were born.
I'm Puerto Rican on my Dad's side, and it's fascinating to see just how much of a genetic mix there is on that side. For example, I never knew that I was 9% Scandinavian! Before my Dad passed, I asked him if he knew what was up with the Scandinavian blood. He had no clue. Of course, his family never really discussed their background very much.
I took the Ancestry DNA test and I found out I am 16% Europe South.
Europe South includes Northern and Southern Italy as well as Sicily and Greece with some of Albania and Turkey.
I would love to claim Italian heritage and there is nothing more I would like to do than wear a sweater that says "Italia" and rep Italy 100 percent, and this of course is fitting since I live in New Jersey.
However I really want to make sure I am Italian. I am Puerto Rican and Peruvian. I read about the Royal Decree of Graces in 1815 which ensured immigration from European countries to suppress African slaves to revolt like what was happening in neighboring countries by giving these Europeans free land and economic incentives to live in Puerto Rico. Some of the countries included were Great Britain (I am also British by the way, a whopping 7 percent), Ireland, Italy, France, and Portugal. Greeks were not included, as far as I recall. And this makes sense since Greeks had to make an allegiance to the Spanish Crown and the Church, which I will get to later on.
There are also millions of Peruvians of Italian descent and most are mixed.
By contrast, I read there were only 50,000 Greeks that arrived to Latin America and many if not most settled in Argentina and Brazil.
My family is also Roman Catholic and Greeks, as well as Turks and Albanians are mostly non-Catholic whereas most Italians. This is also why I do not suppose Greeks would come to Puerto Rico under the Royal Decree of Graces where they had to plead allegiance to the Church, because most are Orthodox Christian and not Roman Catholics.
Since there is very little chance that I am Greek, let alone Albanian and Turkish, I just tell people I am part Italian when I tell them the DNA results or that I am most likely Italian. It still frustrates me that I don't know Europe South country I am. I am also Iberian so that cancels out Spain and Portugal.
Which brings me to another point. I am 41% European and I thought most of my European would be Spanish. However I am mostly Europe South and British combine with some Spanish. I didn't know my Spanish would be so low and other European ancestries would be so high. In fact I didn't even know I had any other European in me besides Spanish.
These DNA tests can go back a seriously long way before the eras you are describing. Scandinavian (Norse, Viking), Roman, Mongol, Ottoman Muslim conquerors' blood are mingled throughout Europe and Asia. Nations and borders have changed dramatically over centuries by nations being conquered over and over gain switching hands through the centuries. Ukrainians were captured by Ottoman armies and used as slaves in the 500s. So you can see that their blood mixed, Slavic and Turkish for example. Even England's royalty are primarily Norman blood (Viking Scandinavian who had settled and their king's ruled in Normandy France).
Do some serious research old maps of Southwestern Europe. For my personal DNA, I have a book of maps for Eastern Europe going back to 300's. It turns out that much of the northern regions of Russia, Ukraine, and so on were occupied by Sweden way back when. So for me having Scandinavian blood runs through my British heritage and my Ukrainian heritage.
Europe South used to be referred to as "Italy/Greece". Then ancestry changed the name.
For me, I'm 49% Europe South and I know exactly what country in that area where my maternal grandparents were born.
I'm Puerto Rican on my Dad's side, and it's fascinating to see just how much of a genetic mix there is on that side. For example, I never knew that I was 9% Scandinavian! Before my Dad passed, I asked him if he knew what was up with the Scandinavian blood. He had no clue. Of course, his family never really discussed their background very much.
I took the Ancestry DNA test and I found out I am 16% Europe South.
Europe South includes Northern and Southern Italy as well as Sicily and Greece with some of Albania and Turkey.
I would love to claim Italian heritage and there is nothing more I would like to do than wear a sweater that says "Italia" and rep Italy 100 percent, and this of course is fitting since I live in New Jersey.
However I really want to make sure I am Italian. I am Puerto Rican and Peruvian. I read about the Royal Decree of Graces in 1815 which ensured immigration from European countries to suppress African slaves to revolt like what was happening in neighboring countries by giving these Europeans free land and economic incentives to live in Puerto Rico. Some of the countries included were Great Britain (I am also British by the way, a whopping 7 percent), Ireland, Italy, France, and Portugal. Greeks were not included, as far as I recall. And this makes sense since Greeks had to make an allegiance to the Spanish Crown and the Church, which I will get to later on.
There are also millions of Peruvians of Italian descent and most are mixed.
By contrast, I read there were only 50,000 Greeks that arrived to Latin America and many if not most settled in Argentina and Brazil.
My family is also Roman Catholic and Greeks, as well as Turks and Albanians are mostly non-Catholic whereas most Italians. This is also why I do not suppose Greeks would come to Puerto Rico under the Royal Decree of Graces where they had to plead allegiance to the Church, because most are Orthodox Christian and not Roman Catholics.
Since there is very little chance that I am Greek, let alone Albanian and Turkish, I just tell people I am part Italian when I tell them the DNA results or that I am most likely Italian. It still frustrates me that I don't know Europe South country I am. I am also Iberian so that cancels out Spain and Portugal.
Which brings me to another point. I am 41% European and I thought most of my European would be Spanish. However I am mostly Europe South and British combine with some Spanish. I didn't know my Spanish would be so low and other European ancestries would be so high. In fact I didn't even know I had any other European in me besides Spanish.
Could you post your results? very interesting.
Here is my Ancestry.Com results:
Native American
29%
Iberian Peninsula
26%
Europe South
17%
Africa North
6%
Low Confidence Regions
Scandinavia
5%
Senegal
4%
Europe West
4%
Africa Southeastern Bantu
2%
European Jewish
2%
Great Britain
2%
Benin/Togo
<1%
Europe East
<1
Since there is very little chance that I am Greek,....
I said the same thing 3 years ago, before I got a Y-DNA test.
My 2nd, 3rd and 4th great-grandfathers were born in England, but I am not English.
Their fore-fathers were born in Ireland, but I am not Irish, either.
Before my ancestors lived in Ireland, they lived in Normandy, but I am neither of Norse descent nor Western European descent.
My ancestor accompanied the Romans to colonize Normandy, but he was not a Roman, although he did live within the Roman Empire.
Y-Haplogroup J-M172 suggests my ancestor was Greek. Even if he was living in Syria at the time the Romans colonized Normandy, he was probably an ethnic Greek.
Your Y-Haplogroup will show where your paternal ancestors originated.
Even though your ancestors might have migrated from Spain to Peru, it doesn't prove they were "Spanish."
They could have been Greek. Almost all Roman administrators were ethnic Greeks. If not Greek, then Jewish or Moorish, or maybe an Alan, a Vandal, Suebi or Visigoth.
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