White people facts for kids

A white married couple

White people are people with light skin. Most white people are of European origin, but are also found in other places. Sometimes it refers to a larger group: white people among other groups. The term "Caucasian" is often used as a synonym for "white people", but sometimes it means people of the Caucasus Mountains.

Before the modern age, no Europeans thought of themselves as "white". Instead, they defined their race, ancestry, or ethnicity in terms of their nationality (Greek, Roman, etc.). The concept of a unified white race came into use in the 17th century, or later. The strongest proponents of racialism in 20th century Europe, Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany, regarded some European peoples such as Slavs as racially distinct from themselves.

Related pages

• Black people

Images for kids

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  1820 drawing of a Book of Gates fresco of the tomb of Seti I, depicting (from left) four groups of people: four Libyans, a Nubian, an Asiatic, and an Egyptian.

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  The Alexander Mosaic, from Roman Pompeii, circa 100 BC, depicting Macedonian and Greek cavalry of Alexander the Great fighting Achaemenid Persians under Darius III at the Battle of Issus

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  Henry Strickland Constable's illustration in the 19th century which shows an alleged similarity between "Irish Iberian" and "Negro" features in contrast to the higher "Anglo-Teutonic"

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  The Georgian female skull Johann Friedrich Blumenbach discovered in 1795, which he used to hypothesize origination of Europeans from the Caucasus.

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  Argentine José de San Martín freed several South American countries.

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  Chris Hemsworth, Australian actor.

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  Gisele Bündchen, Brazilian fashion model and actress.

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  Stephen Amell, Canadian actor.

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  Bernardo O'Higgins, the Republic of Chile's main founding father, was of Basque and Irish ancestry.

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  Juanes at the Zelt Musik Festival 2015 in Germany

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  Nueva Trova and Latin Protest music icon Cuban musician Silvio Rodríguez.

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  Saúl Álvarez is a Mexican professional boxer.

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  Lucy Lawless, New Zealand actress.

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  South African author, anti-war campaigner and intellectual Olive Schreiner

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  English writer and poet William Shakespeare

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  James Cook, explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the Royal Navy

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  First President of the United States George Washington

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  Most decorated Olympian of all time, American swimmer Michael Phelps

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  Alberto Arvelo Torrealba, author of Florentino y El Diablo, considered as the most valuable work within the Venezuelan traditional folklore after independence.

See also

In Spanish: Blanco (persona) para niños