Jeffrey Salazar
The concept of race is a complex and often confusing topic, especially when it comes to determining whether Mediterranean people are considered white. While the close genetic relationship between people living on both sides of the Mediterranean has been confirmed by modern genetics, the idea of distinct human races in a biological sense is rejected by modern scientific consensus. Historically, there have been various attempts to classify human races, with Thomas Huxley's 1870 categorization of Xanthochroic (fair whites of north and central Europe), Mongoloid, Australoid, and Negroid groups being influential. Huxley's classification was later refined, with the Xanthochroi group becoming associated with the Nordic race and the Melanochroi (dark whites) group encompassing Mediterranean peoples. The concept of Mediterranean race has been further explored by writers such as Giuseppe Sergi, who argued for common ancestral origins in the African continent, challenging notions of racial purity. Today, the root term Caucasian is still used in countries like the United States and Australia as a synonym for white, often including individuals of European, Middle Eastern, or North African ancestry, despite ongoing debates and criticisms surrounding these classifications.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Mediterranean race | Xanthochroi (Nordic) and Melanochroi (Mediterranean) |
| Mediterranean traits | Skin color matte-white or brunet-white, chestnut or dark chestnut eyes and hair, medium-low stature, dolichomorphic skull, oval face, leptorrhine nose |
| Mediterranean people | Italians, Turkish, Portuguese, Sicilians, Sardinians, Calabrians, Greeks, Spaniards, South Italians, Armenians, Arabs |
| Mediterranean heritage | Greek, Shardanas of Sardinia, African, Indian, Chinese |
| Race in the USA | White = Nordic (pale skin, blue eyes, blond hair) |
| White in the US and Australia | Synonym for European, Middle Eastern, or North African ancestry |
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What You'll Learn
- Mediterranean people have been historically considered 'white' by some, but this is not universally agreed upon
- The concept of distinct human races is rejected by modern scientific consensus
- In the US, the root term 'Caucasian' is used as a synonym for white, European, Middle Eastern, or North African ancestry
- Mediterranean people have been deemed inferior by white supremacists and Nordicists, who promote the Nordic race as the 'master race'
- Ancient writers commented on differences between northern and southern Europeans, but Greek identity was not synonymous with whiteness
Mediterranean people have been historically considered 'white' by some, but this is not universally agreed upon
The concept of race is a complex and often contentious topic, and the classification of Mediterranean people within it has been a subject of debate. While some consider Mediterranean individuals as white, this characterisation is not universally accepted and is influenced by historical context, geographical location, and societal perceptions.
In the United States, the idea of Mediterranean people as a distinct racial category has been challenged by writers like W. E. B. Du Bois, who utilised it to criticise white supremacist ideologies. Du Bois and other African-American intellectuals emphasised the cultural cross-fertilisation between Africa and Europe, drawing on Giuseppe Sergi's work, which suggested that the Mediterranean race likely originated in Africa. This perspective highlights the fluidity of racial categories and challenges simplistic notions of racial purity.
However, the perception of Mediterranean people as white has been prevalent in certain historical contexts. During the 19th century, cultural and religious differences between Protestant northwestern Europe and the Catholic south were reinterpreted through a racial lens. Thomas Huxley's influential classification system from 1870 recognised four basic racial groups, including the "Xanthochroic" or "fair whites" of northern and central Europe. Huxley's system laid the groundwork for the Nordicist ideology that emerged in the 20th century, which promoted the Nordic race as the most "advanced" and designated them as the "master race". Southern and Eastern Europeans were deemed inferior, often based on claims of racial mixing, such as Arthur de Gobineau's argument blaming racial mixing for the fall of the Roman Empire.
The categorisation of Mediterranean people as white is further complicated by the variation in skin tones within the region. Some Mediterranean individuals possess darker skin tones and the ability to tan, challenging the binary classification of people as either "white" or "non-white". This complexity is often overlooked in popular perceptions of race, particularly in the United States, where the concept of "whiteness" is often associated with fair skin and specific physical features. The fluidity of racial categories and the influence of geographical context are evident in the experiences of Mediterranean people, reflecting the dynamic and constructed nature of racial identities.
While Mediterranean people have been historically considered white by some, this classification is not universally agreed upon. The characterisation of racial groups is influenced by a range of factors, including scientific theories, cultural biases, and societal power dynamics. The ongoing debate surrounding the racial identity of Mediterranean people underscores the complexities and ambiguities inherent in the concept of race.
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The concept of distinct human races is rejected by modern scientific consensus
The continued sharing of genetic materials has maintained all of humankind as a single species, with genetic research revealing that all humans are closely related and share the same collection of genes, albeit with slight variations. This challenges the notion of biologically distinct human races, as genetic sequencing has introduced new ways of thinking about human diversity. It has become clear that human populations are not unambiguous, clearly demarcated, biologically distinct groups. Instead, they form geographically isolated groups that acquire their distinctive genetic mutations over time.
The concept of race is considered a social myth that has caused significant harm and damage, as stated in UNESCO's early antiracist statement, "The Race Question" (1950). The statement distinguishes between the biological fact of race and the myth of 'race', attributing the latter to a social construct that has led to human and social damage. The American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) also denounced the misuse of genetics to feed racist ideologies, emphasizing that humans cannot be divided into biologically distinct subcategories.
While the term "race" continues to be used in official contexts, such as the U.S. census, and influences people's perceptions, opportunities, and experiences, it lacks a scientific basis. The categorization of humans into distinct races is a product of historical and contemporary social, economic, educational, and political circumstances. The concept of race is relative and has varied over time, with ancient writers like Aristotle contending that the Greeks were superior due to their medium skin tone. In the 19th century, cultural and religious differences between Protestant northwestern Europe and the Catholic south were reinterpreted in racial terms, contributing to the development of racial hierarchies.
Regarding Mediterranean people, the concept of a distinct "Mediterranean race" has been a subject of debate, with varying perspectives. While some consider Mediterranean people as white, others view them as a category within whiteness, acknowledging the existence of darker skin tones among Italians, Turks, and other Mediterranean populations. The close relationship between people living on both sides of the Mediterranean has been confirmed by modern genetics, challenging simplistic racial categorizations.
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In the US, the root term 'Caucasian' is used as a synonym for white, European, Middle Eastern, or North African ancestry
The concept of race and ethnicity in the US is complex and often confusing, even to Americans. While the scientific consensus rejects the concept of distinct human races, the idea of racial categories persists in everyday life and official discourse. One such category is "Caucasian," which is used in the United States as a synonym for white people of European, Middle Eastern, or North African ancestry. The term originates from the Caucasus region in southeastern Europe, which was believed by 18th-century European scholars to be the origin of the human species based on biblical references and ancient myths.
The use of "Caucasian" as a racial category has a long history in anthropology and science. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, anthropologists and scientists classified humans into distinct racial groups, with "Caucasoid" or "Caucasian" being one of the primary categories. However, the term has been criticised for its imprecise usage and its disconnection from the actual inhabitants of the Caucasus region. Moreover, the categorisation of humans into distinct races has been discredited by modern scientific consensus.
Despite this, the term "Caucasian" continues to be used in official contexts within the United States, often as a synonym for white people. Notably, the federal government officially categorises people with origins in the Middle East, North Africa, and parts of Southwest Asia as Caucasian or white. This classification has been mandated in the US census, where people with roots in countries like Lebanon, Iran, and Egypt (known as the MENA region) are required to be counted as white.
However, this official categorisation does not always align with how people self-identify or are perceived by others. Many individuals of Middle Eastern or North African descent do not identify as white and do not feel that their racial identity matches how they are treated in society. They may experience discrimination and face challenges in various aspects of daily life, leading to a disconnect between their official racial classification and their lived experiences.
The case of Mediterranean peoples further complicates the discussion of race and ethnicity in the US. Mediterranean peoples, including Southern Europeans such as Italians, Greeks, and Spaniards, as well as North Africans, have a range of skin tones and physical traits. While they are often classified as white, the ability to tan and the presence of darker skin tones among some Mediterranean peoples challenges simplistic notions of whiteness based solely on fair skin. This has led to debates and discussions about the fluid nature of racial categories and the need for more nuanced understandings of race and ethnicity.
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Mediterranean people have been deemed inferior by white supremacists and Nordicists, who promote the Nordic race as the 'master race'
The Mediterranean race is a historical race concept that includes populations from both sides of the Mediterranean, as well as certain populations from further afield, such as Ireland, Wales, and Cornwall. The concept of distinct human races in a biological sense is, however, rejected by modern scientific consensus.
During the 20th century, white supremacists and Nordicists in Europe and the United States promoted the merits of the Nordic race as the most "advanced" of all human population groups, designating them as the "master race". Nordicists considered the Nordic race to be superior on the basis that they were the alleged innovators and conquerors, possessing an adventurous spirit unmatched by any other race. Nordicists also attributed the perceived lack of wealth or progress in Mediterranean countries to the influence of the close-knit groups that Aryans of the North had developed to survive in frigid climates, which made them more disciplined and civic-minded than Southern Europeans.
Southern and Eastern Europeans were deemed inferior by Nordicists, an argument that dated back to Arthur de Gobineau's claims that racial mixing was responsible for the decline of the Roman Empire. German and Anglo-Saxon Nordicists viewed Mediterranean peoples as racially degenerate due to having a darker skin colour than Nordics. However, this claim was rebuked by the depigmentation theory, which suggested that lighter-skinned peoples had been dipigmented from a darker skin tone.
In Southern Europe, alternative models were developed that stressed the merits of Mediterranean peoples, drawing on ancient and Renaissance claims about the superiority of civilisation in the south. Italian Fascists, for example, strongly rejected the common Nordicist conception of the Aryan race, which idealised "pure" Aryans as having physical traits such as fair skin and blond hair—traits uncommon among Italians and other Mediterranean peoples. They viewed Nordicism as perpetuating a Mediterranean inferiority complex. Instead, Italian Fascists often viewed race as a cultural and political invention rather than a biological reality.
Mediterraneanist and anthropologist Giuseppe Sergi also challenged Nordicist claims, arguing that the Mediterranean race was "the greatest race in the world", derived from neither black nor white people, but constituting an "autonomous stock in the human family". He claimed that the Mediterranean race had likely originated from a common ancestral stock that evolved in the Sahara region or the Eastern part of Africa. Sergi also rejected the notion that Aryans were Nordic in appearance, instead proposing that they were "Aryanized Euroafricans" related to the Mediterranean race.
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Ancient writers commented on differences between northern and southern Europeans, but Greek identity was not synonymous with whiteness
Ancient writers commented on differences between northern and southern Europeans, with Greek and Roman people considering Germanic and Celtic peoples to be wild, red-haired barbarians. Aristotle contended that the Greeks were ideal as they had a medium skin tone, unlike the pale northerners. However, the Greek identity was not synonymous with whiteness.
The idea of whiteness as a racial category is a modern concept, with the term "white people" arising in the 17th century. Ancient Greeks did not identify as white, and they did not use skin colour as a racial identifier. Instead, they identified with regions and city-states, and other identities below the linguistic-cultural level of 'Greeks' or 'Hellenes'. The ancient Greeks explained black skin through proximity to the sun, and this theory was applied to people of all skin tones. For example, the ancient Greeks believed that Egyptians were impacted by the heat, while Scythians were impacted by the cold, which "burned" their "white skin".
In the 19th century, long-standing cultural and religious differences between Protestant northwestern Europe and the Catholic south were reinterpreted in racial terms. Thomas Huxley argued that there were four basic racial categories: Xanthochroic, Mongoloid, Australoid, and Negroid. The Xanthochroic race were the "fair whites" of north and central Europe.
During the 20th century, white supremacists and Nordicists in Europe and the United States promoted the Nordic race as the "master race", deeming Southern and Eastern Europeans inferior. However, alternative models developed in southern Europe stressed the merits of Mediterranean peoples, drawing on ancient and Renaissance claims about the superiority of southern civilisation. Giuseppe Sergi's book *The Mediterranean Race* (1901) argued that the Mediterranean race originated from a common ancestral stock that evolved in the Sahara region or Eastern Africa, and was neither white nor negroid.
In the United States, the idea that the Mediterranean race included populations on the African continent was taken up by African-American writers such as W. E. B. Du Bois, who used it to challenge white supremacist ideas about racial purity. Modern genetics has confirmed the close relationship between people living on both sides of the Mediterranean, and the concept of distinct human races is rejected by modern scientific consensus.
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Frequently asked questions
The concept of distinct human races in a biological sense is rejected by modern scientific consensus. However, in the United States, the root term Caucasian is still used as a synonym for white or of European, Middle Eastern, or North African ancestry. In the 19th century, Thomas Huxley argued that there were four basic racial categories, with the Xanthochroic race being the "fair whites" of north and central Europe. Mediterranean people were considered a separate Melanochroi or "dark whites" category.
The concept of race in the USA is considered confusing and arbitrary. People from Mediterranean countries like Italy and Turkey are often lumped together as white or brown, even though they share many of the same skin variations as people from other races/nationalities.
The perception of Mediterranean people as white has been used to build the myth of a "great West". For example, in the United States, Mediterranean people with mixed race heritage have been called "inferior" or "European Negroes".
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