This term refers to the category of well-known. It is actively used both in scientific circulation and in colloquial vocabulary. Meanwhile, not everyone has a clear idea of its original origin and semantic nuances. Therefore, there is reason to reflect on the question: the natives - who is it? And how do they differ from other population groups?
From the history of civilization
The population of territories and continents has never been stable. Over the centuries, there have been processes of moving significant ethnic groups to new habitats. This process is due to a number of economic and political reasons. People fled from hunger, wars and epidemics, or simply searched for new habitats that favorably differed in climate and the possibility of increasing welfare. And on the way of the immigrants almost always met the so-called "natives." These are those who have previously lived in this territory. Relations with them developed in different ways. Sometimes they were quite peaceful. But during the period of the colonial division of the world, from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century, these relations often acquired the character of armed conflict. For the colonialists, the natives are, first of all, those who prevented them from capturing new lands.
From the history of the term
The name of the indigenous peoples is quite ancient, the word was used even before Christian civilization. This term, like much in scientific and professional vocabulary, has a Latin origin. Aborigines are those who already lived in those territories before they were seized under their control by the legions from the "capital of the world." The Roman Empire has long been gone, but its term has long survived and is widely used. It can be heard in modern political practice, and in the scientific community. Often it is used in a variety of figurative meanings. Has this word and synonyms. Aborigines are the same people who are denoted by the definitions of "autochthons" and "natives." Also a common worldwide designation for Aboriginal people is the phrase "indigenous peoples."
New World Aborigines
Most often, indigenous peoples are remembered when it comes to the history of the development of North America. Perhaps, nowhere was the fate of the Aboriginal people so sad as in the continental United States. The population of the vast territories of the American continent was actually destroyed by European civilization approaching from across the ocean. Moreover, not always the American Indians were subjected to physical extermination. Mostly they died out of exile from their original habitats and forced separation from the traditional way of life. This inevitably led to the abuse of alcohol brought by white people. And as a result - to social and personal degradation with subsequent degeneration. Not the best for the Aboriginal people was the situation during the development of the Australian continent.
Significantly happier was the fate of the indigenous population of South America. The aborigines of the Amazon today make up a very significant ethnic group on the continent. Moreover, they live mainly in the same natural habitat as many generations of their ancestors, while preserving their language, cultural, religious and domestic traditions. Among other things, they attract many tourists from all over the world to the continent. Aborigines, whose photos adorn the advertising materials of many tourist structures, are one of the main attractions of South America.
