Latins

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For the other uses, see Latin (disambiguation).

The Latins were an ancient Italic people of Latium Vetus (Old Latium), who migrated to the area in the 2nd millennium B.C. from the north^{[citation needed]}. Although they lived in independent city-states, the Latins had a common language (Latin), common religious beliefs and a close sense of kinship, expressed in the myth that they were all descendants of Latinus, the father-in-law of Aeneas. Latinus was worshipped as Jupiter Latiaris on Mons Albanus (Monte Cavo) during an annual festival that was attended by all Latins, including the Romans. The Latin cities extended common right to residence and trade to one another. Rome's territorial ambitions united the rest of the Latins against it in 341 BC, but the final victory was on Rome's side in 338 BC. Consequently some of the Latin states were incorporated within the Roman state, and their inhabitants were given full Roman citizenship. Others became Roman allies and enjoyed certain privileges. Gradually, with the spread of Roman power throughout Italy, 'Latin' ceased to be an ethnic term and became a legal category.

1 Modern uses
2 Who is a Latin?
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Modern uses

In modern times the term "Latin" is most commonly applied as an adjective to people of Italian, Spanish, Romanian, French, or Portuguese descent because their languages descend from Latin.

In the United States Latin, Hispanic, and Latino are often used as synonyms in referring to people from Latin America. As a shortening of the term 'Latin America', "Latin" refers to a native or inhabitant of Latin America and not specifically to a member of a Latin people. In this sense, the term is used as an equivalent to terms like European, African, Asian, and Middle Eastern, which make a Latin girl or woman "a Latina" and a Latin boy or man "a Latino".

[edit] Who is a Latin?

Most commonly in Europe, as a noun, the term “Latin” is applied to people from southern European countries where Romance languages are spoken and so Italians, Spaniards, and Portuguese are popularly called "Latins" by other Europeans because of their distinctive Mediterranean roots. In America the trend continues as the French-speaking province of Quebec and Haiti are not considered to be part of Latin America. In the Byzantine Empire, "Latins" was a synonym to "Westeners", referring to all peoples of the Roman Catholic faith. Today the Byzantine cultural successors (Greece, Cyprus) also use "Latins" as a term for "Roman Catholics" in order to distinguish them from a member of the Greek Church.