Early X-ray surveys of the Magellanic Clouds (MCs) were performed with the imaging instruments of the Einstein, ASCA and ROSAT satellites revealing discrete X-ray sources and large-scale diffuse emission. Large samples of supernova remnants, high and low mass X-ray binaries and super-soft X-ray sources could be studied in detail. Today, the major X-ray observatories XMM-Newton and Chandra with their advanced angular and spectral resolution and extended energy coverage are ideally suited for detailed population studies of the X-ray sources in these galaxies and to draw conclusions on our own Galaxy. We summarize our knowledge about the X-ray source populations in the MCs from past missions and present first results from systematic studies of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) using the growing number of archival XMM-Newton observations.
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