Whites
Whites is a broad term used to describe "Caucasian" people as an ethnic descent, especially those with fair skin. It is often used in contrast with other racial color terms, such as black or, rarely, yellow or brown. Although the most prevalent term in casual conversation, white is increasingly rarely used in academic and formal discussion of racial demographics, however it is still often used in discussions of racial attitudes, particularly in the humanities, and in fields such as Black studies, Critical race theory, and Whiteness studies. White is also the dominant term in many discourses of racial superiority, supremacy, and separatism, such as the White power movement; this it shares with the word Aryan, popularised by the National Socialists.
The scope of the term white has changed over time, and may vary from place to place. For example, Ashkenazi Jews and Slavs were often considered separate from the white race for many years, and are now generally considered "white" following World War II. Similarly, in Haiti, Cuba, and Brazil light-skinned people of mixed (African and European) descent are considered "white"; in the United States, those same people would be considered "black".
Additionally, the popular definition of white in the United States often excludes all Hispanic and Latino peoples, sometimes including peoples of European Spanish descent. However, relatively few Hispanics in the U.S. are of primarily Spanish descent; the majority of U.S. Hispanics are mestizo (mixed Spanish and Native American ancestry). Many people view all Turks, Arabs, and Iranians as non-white as well, even though these groups are close genetically to Mediterranean Europeans. Therefore, it is likely that being considered "white" is tied more to social and cultural factors than genotype or phenotype.
This usage is sometimes criticized by those who argue that it de-ethnicizes various groups. During the era of Jim Crow Laws in the US South, facilities were commonly divided into separate sections for "White" and "Colored" people. These terms were defined by law, with people of exclusively northern and western European descent being labeled "White" and African-Americans labeled as "Colored". The categorization of people of other ethnicities and mixed ancestries varied from state to state and in different municipalities.
Countries with white majorities include most the of the nations of Europe and western Asia as well as countries colonized by Europeans in the 1400s-1800s such as the United States, Canada, Costa Rica, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Israel, the Asian territories of Russia, Australia, and New Zealand. In these nations, the relatively small indigenous populations were overwhelmed by white colonists from a European "mother country".
Significant minorities of whites live in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia, and in the various Latin American and Caribbean countries. Many of these nations have experienced considerable political conflict between the white minority (descended from settlers from the former colonial power) and a non-European majority, heightening the sense of white racial identity.
As is the case with many racial groups, throughout history some whites have seen themselves as superior to members of other groups. This has been a factor in issues related to imperialism, slavery, and colonization, the latter of which sometimes was justified by the notion of the white man's burden. This attitude is considered socially unacceptable in most white-majority countries today.
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