  More than 50 years have elapsed since the first studies of star clusters in
the Magellanic Clouds. The wealth of data accumulated since then has not only
revealed a large cluster system, but also a diversified one, filling loci in
the age, mass and chemical abundance parameter space which are complementary to
Galactic clusters. Catalogs and photometric samples currently available cover
most of the cluster mass range. The expectations of relatively long cluster
disruption timescales in the Clouds have been confirmed, allowing reliable
assessments of the cluster initial mass function and of the cluster formation
rate in the Clouds. Due to their proximity to the Galaxy, Magellanic clusters
are also well resolved into stars. Analysis of colour-magnitude diagrams (CMDs)
of clusters with different ages, masses and metallicities are useful tools to
test dynamical effects such as mass loss due to stellar evolution, two-body
relaxation, stellar evaporation, cluster interactions and tidal effects. The
existence of massive and young Magellanic clusters has provided insight into
the physics of cluster formation. The magnitudes and colours of different
stellar types are confronted with stellar evolutionary tracks, thus
constraining processes such as convective overshooting, stellar mass-loss,
rotation and pre main-sequence evolution. Finally, the Magellanic cluster
system may contribute with nearby and well studied counterparts of the recently
proposed types of extragalactic clusters, such as Faint Fuzzies and Diffuse
Star Clusters.
