On the continent of North America, north of Mexico, three or four
hundred years ago, there were probably about 1,150,000 Indians. Of
these, perhaps 850,000 were on territory now that of the United States
proper; 220,000 in British America; 72,000 in Alaska; and 10,000 in
Greenland. Numerous and prolonged intertribal wars, ravages of
tuberculosis, and fevers, are known to have swept off entire populations
of large districts, before contact with Whites had greatly accelerated
the death-rate of the American Indians. Smallpox, introduced by the
Whites, has nearly extinguished entire tribes, time after time. Whiskey,
and attendant dissipation, sexual diseases brought in by Whites, and the
lowered vitality which results from changed conditions of life, with
tuberculosis, rendered much more deadly in the conditions of life forced
upon Indians by the Whites, had largely reduced the Indian population
before 1800, and have steadily tended toward the extermination of
Indians since that date, although intermarriages and enrolment of
mixed-bloods have kept up the numbers on tribal rolls.
The most interesting groups of Indians in Central and South America have
been the (a) Aztecs, (b) Pipils, making the _Nahuatlan_ group; and the
(a) Mayas, (b) Quichés, (c) Pocomans, making the _Huastecan_ group.
THE AZTECS were the dominant race in Mexico prior to their conquest by
Spaniards. Although the name is usually extended to all the
semi-civilized tribes of Nahuatlan (_Aztlan_, “heron clan”) stock, it
properly belongs only to a small group of seven related clans. The
principal tribe had its capital at Tenochtitlan, now the city of Mexico.
They developed a form of astronomy which was mainly astrological, and
could take accurate observations, not only of lunations, but also of the
periods of Venus. They divided the solar year into eighteen months of
twenty days each and named each day by consecutive hieroglyphics. Their
writing system was mainly pictorial. The Aztec monuments, however, or
pyramids surmounted by temples, were not to be compared with those of
Yucatan, while the finest in Mexico itself (Teotihuacan, Colula,
Papantla) were the work of their Toltec predecessors.
Possessed of a high degree of culture, the Aztecs were also notorious
for their cruelty and the barbarous character of their religious rites.
Some of their descendants, comparatively pure in blood and retaining the
ancient language, are still to be found in the neighborhood of the city
of Mexico.
INCAS (_ing´käz_).--The reigning and aristocratic order in ancient Peru
from the thirteenth to the sixteenth century. They were originally a
tribe or family of the Quichés who inhabited certain valleys near Cuzco
and first became dominant under Manco Capac about 1240. Their own
traditions described Manco Capac as a child of the Sun. From him
descended the twelve other historical sovereigns of Peru, the last
reigning one being Huascar, though the lineage was preserved long after.
These sovereigns (the Incas in a restricted sense) always married their
own sisters, and the throne was inherited, in general, by the oldest son
proceeding from this marriage. Children by their other wives could not,
by custom or law, receive the crown, though this rule was broken when
Atahualpa inherited a part of the empire in 1523. The rule of the Incas
was absolute, but very mild. They had attained to a high state of
civilization before the arrival of the Spaniards. They cultivated many
of the arts, and had some knowledge of astronomy. They had domesticated
the llamas and alpacas, had brought under cultivation maize, potatoes
and other edible roots, understood mining and the working of metals, and
excelled as masons, weavers, potters, and farmers. They brought the
science of government to a high pitch of perfection. The Incas composed
songs and dramas; and as soldiers their skill and prowess enabled them
to conquer and consolidate a vast empire. Three centuries of oppression
under Spanish rule have deteriorated the character of the Inca Indian,
but he is still industrious and honest, and retains some of the virtues
of his ancestors.
=Israelites.=--See Hebrews.
=Japanese.=--The Japanese and Koreans form the easternmost group of the
great Sibiric branch, which, with the Sinitic branch (Chinese, etc.,)
constitutes the Mongolian race. The Japanese and Koreans stand much
nearer than the Chinese to the Finns, Lapps, Magyars, and Turks of
Europe, who are the westernmost descendants of the Mongolian race. The
languages of all these peoples belong to the agglutinative family, while
Chinese is monosyllabic.
Although many people may mistake a Japanese face for Chinese, the
Mongolian traits are much less pronounced. The skin is much less yellow,
the eyes less oblique. The hair, however, is true Mongolian, black and
round in section, and the nose is small. These physical differences no
doubt indicate that the Japanese are of mixed origin. In the south there
is probably a later Malay admixture. In some respects their early
culture resembles that of the Philippines of today.
Then there is an undoubted white strain in Japan. The Ainos, the
earliest inhabitants of Japan, are one of the most truly Caucasian-like
people in appearance in eastern Asia. They have dwindled away to less
than 20,000 under the pressure of the Mongolian invasion from the
mainland, but they have left their impress upon the Japanese race. The
“fine” type of the aristocracy, the Japanese ideal, as distinct from the
“coarse” type recognized by students of the Japanese of today, is
perhaps due to the Aino.
The race, as a whole, is physically under-developed, the men being
small, and harsh in feature, while the women lose their good looks after
the first bloom of youth is over. The girls, with their rosy cheeks,
fascinating manners, and exquisitely tasteful dress, are, however,
particularly attractive, and the children are bright and comely, being
allowed full liberty to enjoy themselves--indeed Japan is the paradise
of children.
The Japanese have many excellent qualities, they are kindly, courteous,
law-abiding, cleanly in their habits, frugal, and possessed of a high
sense of personal honor which makes sordidness unknown. This is
associated, moreover, with an ardent patriotic spirit, quite removed
from factiousness. On the other hand the people are deficient in moral
earnestness and courage, which leads to corruption in social life and
institutions.
[Illustration: The people of Japan are noted for their love of things
beautiful. The above scene is a typical picture of an exquisite garden,
presided over by several picturesquely gowned Japanese girls.]
The town costume of the Japanese gentleman consists of a loose silk robe
extending from the neck to the ankles, but gathered in at the waist,
round which is fastened a girdle of brocaded silk. Over this is worn a
loose, wide-sleeved jacket, decorated with the wearer’s armorial device.
White cotton socks, cleft at the great toes, and wooden pattens complete
the attire. European costume has been prescribed by government as the
official dress, and the empress and her suite have recently adopted
foreign costume, being followed to a certain extent by the fashionable
ladies of the capital. Hats are not generally worn, except by those who
follow European fashions or in the heat of summer.
The women wear a loose robe, overlapping in front and fastened with a
broad heavy girdle of silk (_obi_), often of great value. In winter a
succession of these robes are worn, one over the other. The formerly
universal chignon coiffure of the women, stiff with pomatum, which was
done up by the hair-dresser once or twice a week, is rapidly yielding to
the simpler Grecian knot.
MODE OF LIVING.--Japanese houses are slight constructions of wood. In
the northern districts at least two sides of the house are closed in
with walls of mud plastered on wicker-work. The floors are covered with
thick soft straw mats, measuring six by three feet, and the
accommodation of the houses is reckoned by the number of these mats. On
them the inmates sit, eat and sleep, the bed-clothes--heavily padded
quilts--being kept during the day in adjoining closets. Rice is the
staple food of the people, but in the poorer mountainous regions millet
often takes its place. Fish, seaweed, and beans in all forms are served
with the rice, especially in the soups, which likewise contain bean
curd, eggs, and vegetables. Chestnuts and hazel-nuts are also largely
eaten, and the walnut is made into a sweetmeat. _Shōyu_ (soy), a sauce
made of beans and wheat, is the universal condiment. Fowls are now
pretty widely used for the table, and pork and beef, as well as bread,
are increasingly eaten.
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.--The social position of women is more favorable
than in most non-Christian countries, but still leaves much to be
desired. Marriages are arranged through an intermediary, and both sexes
marry at an early age. As the continuance of families is a point of
great importance, adoption is largely resorted to in order to prevent
families dying out. Great respect is paid to the dead, and posthumous
names are conferred after death, some of the most celebrated names in
Japanese history being posthumous titles. Heavy sums are lavished on
funerals.
[Illustration: The Jinrikisha (_jin-rik´i-shaw_) or two-wheeled carriage
generally in use in Japan.]
Until lately the only vehicles in Japan were two kinds of palanquin; but
in all the more level districts these have now been superseded by the
_jinrikĭsha_ (man-power-carriage), a sort of two-wheeled perambulator
drawn by a man who runs between the shafts. In many of the more
mountainous regions the roads are impracticable even for the
_jinrikĭsha_.
The Japanese are essentially a pleasure-loving people, and spend
comparatively large sums upon amusements. The theater, though formerly
despised by the _samurai_ class, who refused to enter its doors, forms
one of the chief national resorts. The time of greatest festivity is the
New Year, now held contemporaneously with our own, when pinetrees are
planted before the doors, the houses are gay with decoration, and
presents are lavishly made. The favorite game at this season is
_oyobane_, a kind of battledore and shuttlecock. January is the kite
season; the smaller kites are of various fantastic shapes, while the
larger and more powerful ones are usually rectangular. Wrestling,
juggling, and archery are favorite sports.
RELIGIONS OF JAPAN.--There are two prevailing religions in
Japan--_Shintoism_ (The way of the gods), the indigenous faith; and
Buddhism, introduced from China in 552.
The characteristics of Shintoism in its pure form are the absence of an
ethical and doctrinal code, of idol-worship, of priestcraft, and of any
teachings concerning a future state, and the deification of heroes,
emperors, and great men, together with the worship of certain forces and
objects in nature.
Of Buddhists there are no fewer than thirty-five sects. The monks have
assumed the functions of priests, and Japanese Buddhist worship presents
striking resemblances to that of the Roman Catholic Church.
Notwithstanding the increased patronage recently bestowed upon Shintoism
by the government, Buddhism is still the dominant religion among the
people.
Japan is a land of temples, but many are now falling into decay, while
others are turned into schoolhouses. Every grove has its shrine and
_torii_, a structure in wood or stone, consisting of two upright pillars
joined at the top by two transverse beams or slabs; metal torii are also
not unknown. The Buddhist monasteries in the Japanese middle ages were
undoubtedly wonderful centers of civilization, and the priests for long
commanded reverence by their self-denial.
=Latins=, or =Latini= (_la-tī´ni_), or =Romans=.--The ancient Latins
inhabited Latium, on the west coast of central Italy, before the
existence of Rome. It would seem that they had branched off from the
Aryan stem next after the Celts, and upon entering Italy soon united
with the primitive Liguirians, later forming a confederation or league
of which Alba Longa became the head.
Out of the Latins, Etruscans (which see) and Sabines (another primal
stock), the Roman people were originally formed, each speaking a most
marked variety of the original Italic mother-tongue. The principal
element was _Latin_, as the language shows. The next in importance was
the _Sabine_, and the third, in order both of time and of influence, was
the _Etruscan_. But with the spread of the Roman arms (the Romans were
Latins), all were absorbed by the Latin variety, which still lives in
its modern progeny--Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Langue d’Oc (South
France), Langue d’Oïl (North or Standard French), Roumanian, Walloon of
Belgium, Rumansch or Ladin and Vaudois of Switzerland. Thus half of
Europe has been Latinized, while the different nationalities still
retain their distinctive physical and mental characters.
=Malays= (_mālāz´_).--Blumenbach, the father of ethnology, regarded the
Malays as one of the five grand divisions of mankind; but the weight of
modern authorities is in favor of considering them as a branch of the
Mongolian race. They are distinguished in color by a variety of shades
of brown, and are native to the Malay Archipelago and Peninsula and the
Island of Madagascar, with perhaps a few related remnants of tribes in
Indo-China. The Malay Archipelago includes the Philippines, but not New
Guinea on the east. Within this archipelago there is no other native
race with the exception of the small groups of pigmy Negroes called
Negritos distantly related to the Papuan of New Guinea, if not to the
Australian.
All the languages spoken by the Malay race belong to the great
Malayo-Polynesian family of languages, which are found everywhere among
Polynesians; that is, as far east as the waters of South America and
northward to include the Hawaiian Islands. The term Malay is also
applied in a narrower sense to that part of the Malay race called the
“true Malay” or “_Orang Malaya_,” that is, the section speaking the
standard Malay tongue and which lived originally in and about the Malay
Peninsula.
While linguistically the Malays are radically distinct from the
Mongolians, physically they approach them more nearly than any other
great race. The lighter brown color found in some sections approaches
the yellow of the Chinese, and the slanting eye or “Mongol fold” of the
upper lid is frequently found where no intermixture can be assumed. The
appearance of the face and head is also somewhat similar in these races.
In temperament and native civilization, however, the Malay is quite
distinct. He has primitive, cruel instincts more like those of the
American Indian. He has nowhere accepted the Mongolian type of
civilization so much as the Caucasian type. The Filipinos are far in
advance of any other Malay people in the latter respect, although the
earlier Malayan civilization was most highly developed in Java. Buddhism
has here been replaced by Mohammedanism, which has extended even into
the southern Philippines.
The question of their origin has been much discussed, some fixing the
cradle of the race on the Asiatic mainland, others in Sumatra.
The Malay intellect is of a low order, and the race has never developed
a native culture, their civilization being entirely due to foreign
influences, chiefly Hindu and Arab.
=Mongolian= (_mon-gō´li-än_).--The second in Blumenbach’s classification
of the races of mankind. The chief characteristics are broad cheekbones,
low, retreating forehead, short and broad nose, and yellowish
complexion. It included the Chinese, Japanese, Turks, Tartars,
Indo-Chinese, Lapps, etc. The Mongolian and the Caucasian are the two
largest races, or divisions, of mankind,--the latter being somewhat the
larger because it includes the greater part of the population of India.
[Illustration: Finish girl of to-day--a descendent of Mongolian
ancestors who settled in Europe centuries ago.]
Just as the Caucasian race extends into southwestern and southern Asia,
so the Mongolian race extends far into Europe, embracing not only the
Lapps of Scandinavia, the Finns, Cossacks, and many other peoples of
Russia, and the Turks of southern Europe, but even the Magyars of
Hungary, the most advanced of all the Europeans of Mongolian origin. The
main western branches of the Mongolians, although Europeanized in blood
as well as in culture, still possess a Mongolian speech.
Brinton divides the Mongolian race into two great branches, the Sinitic
and the Sibiric.
The word “Sinitic” is derived from the late Latin _Sina_, China. It
comprises that branch of the Mongolian race of which the Chinese,
Indo-Chinese, and Tibetan groups are the chief representatives.
The Sibiric branch of the Mongolian race comprises the Japanese,
Arctic, Tungusic, Finnic, Tataric, and Mongolic groups, and therefore
all the Mongolian peoples which have invaded Europe, such as the Finns,
Lapps, Magyars, and Osmanlis or Turks.
=Moor= is a term applied to very different peoples of northwestern
Africa. In Roman history it is applied to inhabitants of Mauretania
(Morocco and Algeria), who were in part Phoenician colonists. In Spanish
history the “Moors” and “Moriscos” were mainly Berbers rather than, as
commonly supposed, Arabs. Today the word is wrongly applied to the Riffs
of Morocco and to the town dwellers of Algeria and Tunis. The latter
call themselves generally “Arabs,” although often in part of Berber
blood. The Moors, in a stricter racial sense, are the mixed Trarza and
other tribes on the western coast, from Morocco to the Senegal, mainly
of nomadic habits. They are of mixed Berber, Arab, and often Negro
blood. Many speak Arabic.
=Negro.=--The only negroes to whom practically all ethnologists are
willing to apply the term are those inhabiting the central and western
third of Africa, excluding even the Bantus, who occupy practically all
Africa south of the Equator. The Bantus, well typified by the Zulu
subdivision, are lighter in color than the true negroes, never sooty
black, but of a reddish-brown. From the negroes proper of the Sudan have
descended most American negroes.
To some extent the northern Negro stock has become intermixed with the
African Caucasian, especially about the Upper Nile, in Abyssinia, and in
Gallaland and Somaliland farther east. Keane’s theory is that the
Australians and Africans represent the earliest offshoots of the
precursors of man who inhabited the continent now submerged in the
Indian Ocean. In line with this theory is the claim that the Veddahs and
Dravidians of India are still more divergent branches toward the north
which have become more affected by Caucasian or, perhaps, Mongolian
elements.
The Papuans and Nigritos of Australasia, having all or most of the
characteristics of the African negroes, are classed with them.
There is a bewildering confusion in the terms used to indicate the
different mixtures of white and dark races in America. Thus, all natives
of Cuba, whether colored or white, are called “creoles,” as this word is
loosely used in the United States; but creole, as more strictly defined,
applies only to those who are native-born but of pure European descent.
This is the use of the word in Mexico. In Brazil and Peru, on the
contrary, it is applied to those possessing colored blood in some
proportion; in Brazil to Negroes of pure descent; and in Peru to the
issue of whites and mestizos. “Mestizo” is the Spanish word applied to
half-breeds (white and Indian.)
SLAVE TRAFFIC IN AMERICA.--The importation of Negroes into America has
been going on steadily since the early years of the sixteenth century,
when it was begun by the Spaniards, even the good Las Casas recommending
it in the interest of the native Indians. Both Queen Elizabeth and King
James I. issued patents to English slave-trading companies operating
between the coast of Guinea and the American colonies. Britain, by the
Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, engaged to carry out the contract of the old
French Guinea Company, and to import into the New World one hundred and
thirty thousand slaves in the course of the next thirty years, and is
said to have more than made good the engagement.
In the United States the traffic was open and active until the passage
of the Act of 1794 prohibiting the importation of slaves into any of the
federal ports. Long after this it continued to be a brisk business in
the West Indies and South America. As late as 1840 there were
seventy-five ships plying constantly between Brazilian ports and the
African coast, bringing cargoes of three or four hundred slaves at each
trip. The principal points at which the slaves were obtained were along
the coast of Guinea, especially on what was known as the Slave Coast,
between the rivers Lagos and Assinie, where were the crowded marts of
Waidah and Anamaboe, and again along the Angola coast. In these two
regions the traders encountered two quite different branches of the
African race, and their human wares in America show that they were
derived from different sources. Along the Guinea coast, whence most of
the slaves brought to the United States were derived, the population
belongs to the true negro type.
In Brazil and other parts of South America the preponderance of
importations was from the negroid stock of the equator, whose dialects
and physical traits are allied to those of the Kaffirs and Zulus of the
east coast (Bantus). The slaves in all parts, however, being from mixed
stocks, their descendants do not present any well-marked peculiarities
inside those of the race. As a rule, they are in strength equal to the
whites, and in endurance of exposure and labor under a tropical sun are
superior to all other immigrants.
It is usually held that the negro is not naturally industrious; but this
seems to some extent answered by the severe field labor of many tribes,
both men and women, in their native continent, and by the official
reports of the United States government showing a greater acreage of
land under cultivation in the former slave states and a larger crop of
cotton than before the Civil War. When under the control of a strong
social organization, and with obvious motives for industry and economy
before his eyes, the American negro is both industrious and provident,
and the instances are numerous where members of the race have
accumulated fortunes of respectable size. Their vitality appears on the
whole to be about the same as the whites, except in the more northern
states, where it is unquestionably much less. In New England and Canada
negroes gradually but surely perish.
NEGRO CHARACTERISTICS.--The negro is a tireless talker and story-teller.
Many of them reveal a high stage of the art of story-telling, as the
Georgia tales collected from the southern states by various writers
attest. Many of them belong to the class of “beast-fables,” similar to
some which have been collected among the American Indians and the
natives of the African continent, and such as were favorite staples of
amusement in Europe during the middle ages.
One of the principal figures is the rabbit--the “brer rabbit” of the
“Uncle Remus” tales. He figures conspicuously not only in the southern
United States, but in the West Indies and on the Amazons, and in the
folklore of the Venezuelan negroes.
Along with story-telling, singing and music are favorite diversions of
the colored population. This tendency is a direct inheritance from their
African ancestry, as throughout that continent the natives are
passionately fond of these diversions. In Central America the negroes
still employ the _marimba_, a native African instrument with wooden keys
placed over jars or gourds, the keys being struck with a stick. In the
United States the violin, the fife, and the guitar are used, but the
favorite is the banjo, an instrument of African derivation, modified
from the guitars with grass strings still in use on the Guinea coast.
With these simple means they produce music of pleasant though not
artistic character. In individual instances (as Blind Tom, born in
Georgia in 1849) members of the race have attained remarkable skill on
the piano and organ, rendering the most difficult compositions with
spirit. No negro composer, however, has attained wide celebrity. Their
songs are numerous, many of them of a religious character, others
turning on the incidents of daily life. They are generally defective in
prosody and without merit, being often little more than words strung
together to carry an air.
=Persians= (_per´shanz_).--The natives or inhabitants of ancient or of
modern Persia. The Persian race or people is quite different from the
Persian nationality. The latter includes several very different peoples,
as will presently be seen. Linguistically the Persian is the chief race
of Persia speaking an Iranic language, that is, one of the Aryan tongues
most nearly related to the Hindi. Physically, the race is of mixed
Caucasian stock. It is almost entirely composed of Tajiks. The small
section known as “Parsis” or, incorrectly, “Fire worshipers,” have for
the most part emigrated to India. The Armenians are so closely related
to the Persians as to be put with them by some into the Iranic branch.
The Kurds, the Beluchis, and the Afghans also belong to the latter.
Of the 9,500,000 estimated population of Persia about two-thirds are
true Persian or “Tajik.” The other third is also Caucasian for the most
part, including Kurds (400,000), Armenians (150,000), and other Iranians
(820,000), and the non-Aryan Arabs (350,000). There are 550,000 Turks
and 300,000 Mongols in the Empire. The only Christians are the Armenians
and a small group of 25,000 “Chaldeans,” “Assyrians,” or “Nestorians,”
really eastern Syrians, about Lake Urmia, on the northwestern border.
In intellect, if not in civilization the Persian is perhaps more nearly
a European than is the pure Turk. He is more alert and accessible to
innovation. Yet he is rather brilliant and poetical than solid in
temperament. Like the Hindu he is more eager to secure the semblance
than the substance of modern civilization.
[Illustration: =MODERN RUSSIAN POLICE OFFICER=]
=Slavs= (_slȧvz_).--Peoples widely spread in eastern, southeastern, and
central Europe. The Russian and Polish are its leading tongues. The
Slavs are divided into two sections--the southeastern and the western.
The former section comprises the Russians, Bulgarians, Serbo-Croatians,
and Slovenes; the latter, the Poles, Bohemians, Moravians, Slovaks,
Wends, etc.
[Illustration: =RUSSIAN POSTMAN=]
Physically, and perhaps temperamentally, the Slavs approach the Asiatic,
or particularly the Tartar, more closely than do the peoples of western
Europe. In language they are as truly Aryan as ourselves. Of course,
languages do not fuse by interbreeding; physical races do. There is some
truth in the old saying, “Scratch a Russian and you find a Tartar,”
especially if he come from southern Russia, where once lived the Mongol
conquerors of the Russians.
Yet the common conception of the Slav as dreamy and impractical does not
seem to fit with the greatness of the new nation which impresses the
imagination of the beholder more than any other in Europe. The fact is
that we do not know the Slav. Unfortunately the unlikeness of the
language to those of western Europe, perhaps even the unfamiliarity of
the alphabet used, has delayed the study of what must soon be regarded
as one of the great languages and literatures of civilization. Its
spread, like that of the Russian Empire, has been more rapid than that
of any other in the present century.
If the Slav be still backward in western ideas, appliances, and form of
government, it is nevertheless conceivable that the time is not far
distant when he will stand in the lead. The race is still young. Its
history is shorter than that of any other important people of Europe.
Turning to the physical characteristics of the Slavs, it is found that
there is not, properly speaking, a Slavic race. Deniker says that no
fewer than five European races are represented among the Slavs, besides
Turkic and Ugric or Mongolian elements. These are the fair, but
broad-headed and short races, in Poland and White Russia especially; the
dark, very broad-headed, and short peoples among the Little Russians of
the south, the Slovaks, and some Great Russians; and the taller, but
still dark and broad-headed races among the southwestern Slavs or
Serbo-Croatians and some Czechs and Ruthenians. In the northwest the
Russians have been modified by the blond or Teutonized Finns, in the
northeast by the dark Finns, and in the southeast by the Tartars; but
all such alike are broad-headed Mongolians in origin. With the exception
of these Asiatic remnants and the related Magyars and Turks, and the
Greeks, all of Europe east of Germany is filled with Slavs. They occupy
more than one-half of the continent of Europe, and their presence has
been a fertile source of political and governmental dissensions for many
centuries, particularly in the Balkan countries. Indeed the scourge of
war which has been ravaging all Europe, since 1914, is traceable in no
small degree to this admixture of racial elements.
[Illustration: Servian Slav woman showing the native costume worn by the
Servian women on feast days.]
[Illustration: Russian Slavs, in native costumes, from a southern
province on the Black Sea.]
=Teutonic.=--This great branch of the Aryan family of languages and
“races,” includes all those of northwestern Europe excepting the Celtic.
The Teutonic was the second Aryan swarm in Western Europe, that which
came after the Celts, and is the one with whose history we are more
concerned than with that of any other; for it is the branch of the Aryan
family to which we ourselves belong. The Teutons were the forefathers of
the Germans and the English, and of the Danes, Swedes, and Norwegians in
Northern Europe. They do not appear in history till a much later time
than the Celts, and then we find them lying immediately to the east of
the Celts, chiefly in the land which is now called Germany. From this
they spread themselves into many of the countries of Europe; but in most
cases they were absorbed into the earlier inhabitants, and learned, like
them, to speak the language of the Romans. The chief parts of Europe
where Teutonic languages are now spoken are Germany, England and
Scandinavia.
In Scandinavia we cannot doubt that the present Teutonic inhabitants
were the first Aryan settlers; for they found a Mongolian people there,
some of whom still remain, by the name of Lapps and Finns, in the
extreme north of Sweden and Norway and on the eastern coast of the
Baltic. But in most places the Teutons, as the second wave, came into
land where other Aryan settlers had been before them. Sometimes they may
have simply come in the wake of the Celts as they were pressing
westward; but, sometimes they found the Celts in the land and drove them
out, as was specially the case in Britain. Of the first coming of the
Teutons into Europe we can say nothing from written history, any more
than of the first coming of the Celts.
The Teutonic stock of nations, as they exist at the present day, is
divided into two principal branches: (1) The Scandinavian, embracing
Danes, Swedes, Norwegians, Icelanders; and (2) the Germanic, which
includes, besides the German-speaking inhabitants of Germany proper and
Switzerland, also the population of the Netherlands (the Dutch), the
Flemings of Belgium, and the descendants of the Angles, Saxons and Jutes
in Great Britain, together with their offspring in North America,
Australia, and other British colonies--the English-speaking peoples of
the world. It is necessary in this case, as in all similar cases, to
guard against making language the sole test of race. In many parts of
Germany, where German now prevails, Slavic dialects were spoken down to
recent times, and in some places are not yet quite extinct. And in Great
Britain it is unreasonable to suppose that the Anglo-Saxon invaders
exterminated the native Celtic population, or even drove more than a
tithe of them into Wales and the Highlands.