Different countries have different origins. That is why people are referred with various other names. One such term which comes up for the white people over here is Caucasian. As there are several different words for white people, Caucasian is one of the most popular and famous amongst various people present all over the world.
But, have you ever wondered why white people are referred to as Caucasian?
Here is a brief explanation of why white people have been given the tag of Caucasians?
Why do white people were started calling Caucasians?
With all the history intact, there are different ways in which the groups of humans can be classified. Also, various human characteristics are different from other groups.
Carl Linnaeus and Christoph Meiners, Blumenbach, came up with a five-fold categorization system for the humans. The five-folds were namely Caucasian, Ethiopians, Mongolians, Americans, and Malays.
Blumenbach included colors for this divide, such as:
- Caucasian for the white
- Mongoloid for the yellow
- Malayan for the brown
- Ethiopian for the black, and
- American for red
Blumenbach classified various groups of humans.
So, where did the Caucasian name came from? In his study, he mentioned that people who belonged to Georgia were the best-suited archetype for this specific group. So, this name came from the Caucasus Mountain Range, which indeed lies on Georgia’s northern border.
Blumenbach has various accomplishments and achievements when it comes to his name. He had always been a great personality and scientist for multiple studies. He was outspoken, which is included in his several writings on the various social subjects.
In the end, Blumenbach’s system of classification was the one that gave the name Caucasian to some people. Thus, caucasian have the same name as white.
In the third edition of Blumenbach’s “On the Natural Variety of Mankind, he would make the skin color lower as a perfect marketer. The observation was owned that various European persons when they were exposed to the sun, and their skin became brown.
Finally, around the mid-20th century, it is no longer a classification more or less was the way in the dodo of the world. All this would be associated with the advanced as well as genetic group classifications.
Though, for various reasons in the late 20th century amongst America particularly, the use of this term became quite popular.
This is the reason as to the Caucasian world was speculated because people were uncomfortable calling each other white or black. So, a new way was developed to call the people as Caucasian and African-American.