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The term Latins has been used throughout history to refer to various peoples, ethnicities and religious groups using
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
or the Latin-derived
Romance languages The Romance languages, also known as the Latin or Neo-Latin languages, are the languages that are Language family, directly descended from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-E ...
, as part of the legacy of the Roman Empire. In the Ancient World, it referred to the people of ancient Latium, including the Romans. Following the spread of
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
, it came to indicate the Catholics of the
Latin Church The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical ...
, especially those following Western liturgical rites. Currently, it defines the peoples using the Romance languages in Europe and the Americas.


Antiquity

The Latins were an ancient Italic people of the Latium region in central Italy (''Latium Vetus'', "Old Latium"), in the 1st millennium BC. Although they lived in independent city-states, they spoke a common language (
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
), held common religious beliefs, and extended common rights of residence and trade to one another. Collectively, these Latin states were known as the Latin League. A rupture between
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, one of the Latin states, and the rest of the Latin League emerged as a result of the former's territorial ambitions. The Latin League fought against Rome in the Latin War (340-338 BC), which ended in a Roman victory. Consequently, some of the Latin states were incorporated within the Roman state, and their inhabitants were given full
Roman citizenship Citizenship in ancient Rome () was a privileged political and legal status afforded to free individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance. Citizenship in ancient Rome was complex and based upon many different laws, traditions, and cu ...
. Others became Roman allies and enjoyed certain privileges. The
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...
would go on to dominate the
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...
region for the next several centuries, spreading the Latin language and Roman culture. The Latin-speaking
Western Roman Empire In modern historiography, the Western Roman Empire was the western provinces of the Roman Empire, collectively, during any period in which they were administered separately from the eastern provinces by a separate, independent imperial court. ...
ended in AD 476, while the Greek-speaking eastern half survived on until 1453.


Middle Ages

In the Eastern Roman Empire, and the broader Greek-Orthodox world, ''Latins'' was a synonym for all people who followed the
Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
George Ostrogorsky, History of the Byzantine State of
Western Christianity Western Christianity is one of two subdivisions of Christianity (Eastern Christianity being the other). Western Christianity is composed of the Latin Church and Protestantism, Western Protestantism, together with their offshoots such as the O ...
, regardless of ethnicity. The term was related to the predominance of the
Latin Church The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical ...
, which is the largest autonomous
particular church In metaphysics, particulars or individuals are usually contrasted with ''universals''. Universals concern features that can be exemplified by various different particulars. Particulars are often seen as concrete, spatiotemporal entities as opposed ...
within the broader
Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, and took its name from its origins in the Latin-speaking world which had Rome as its center. ''Latin'' was generally a negative characterization, especially after the 1054 schism. The term is still used by the Orthodox church communities, but only in a theological context. Nonetheless, it did not share this negative connotation in the West, where many self-identified with the term, such as
Petrarch Francis Petrarch (; 20 July 1304 – 19 July 1374; ; modern ), born Francesco di Petracco, was a scholar from Arezzo and poet of the early Italian Renaissance, as well as one of the earliest Renaissance humanism, humanists. Petrarch's redis ...
, when he states ''"Sumus enim non greci, non barbari, sed itali et latini."'' ("We are not Greeks or barbarians; we are Italians and Latins.").


Latin peoples and regions

The various Romance-speaking groups of the present day, usually those of Latin Europe and
Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...
, have sometimes been collectively referred to as "Latin peoples". Other synonymous terms are "Romance peoples" or "Romanic peoples". Likewise, the Romance languages themselves are sometimes referred to as the Latin or Neo-Latin languages. The designation also specifically survived in the names of two Romance-speaking groups: the Ladin people of northern Italy and the Ladino people of
Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...
. The term ''Latin Europe'' is sometimes used in reference to European nations and regions inhabited by Romance-speaking people. ''Latin America'' is the region of
the Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.'' Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sin ...
that was colonized by Latin Europeans, and came to be called so in the 19th century. The term is usually used to refer to Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries, namely
Hispanic America Hispanic America ( or ), historically known as Spanish America () or Castile (historical region), Castilian America (), is the Spanish-speaking countries and territories of the Americas. In all of these countries, Spanish language, Spanish is th ...
and
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
. Latin Americans are called ''latinoamericanos and'' ''latino-americanos'' in Spanish and Portuguese, respectively; the shortening of this term resulted in the name for Latinos, who are themselves sometimes just called "Latin". Many of the present-day independent states of
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
have main official languages that are Romance, as a result of colonization by Romance-speaking European nations in the 19th century. Barthélémy Boganda, a politician of the
Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central African Republic–Chad border, the north, Sudan to Central African Republic–Sudan border, the northeast, South Sudan to Central ...
, proposed a " United States of Latin Africa" in 1957 that would serve as a federation of the Romance-speaking countries in the region of Central Africa, which never came into fruition. African-American author Richard Wright, who criticized the proposal, said that "Latin Africa" correlated with "Catholic Africa" and would create an unnecessary religious division against the English-speaking "
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
Africa".R. Wright, « To French Readers », Mississippi Quarterly, 42, 4, 1989 (Automne)


See also

* Latin Rights * Latin Valley *
Greek East and Latin West Greek East and Latin West are terms used to distinguish between the two parts of the Greco-Roman world and of medieval Christendom, specifically the eastern regions where Greek was the ''lingua franca'' (Greece, Anatolia, the southern Balkans, ...
* Roman people#Later history * Latin Union * Pan-Latinism


References

{{reflist


External links


Distinguishing the terms: Latins and Romans
Latin language Italic peoples