The people who attacked the Roman Empire are mentioned as barbarians.
The term barbarian comes from the Latin barbarus which, in turn, derives from a Greek word meaning "foreigner" . The subject who lived in some of the populations that, starting in the 5th century , attacked the Roman Empire is known as a barbarian.
Bárbaro also allows us to name anyone or anything that had to do with these populations, which could be divided into those of the white Slavic race, those of the non-Slavic white race and those of the yellow race. The Huns , Germans , and Gauls were some of the main barbarian peoples .
The barbarian invasions were part of a migratory process that developed from the 3rd century to the 8th century in various European regions. These migrations are pointed out by experts as the link between Ancient History and the period known as the Middle Ages .
Barbarian, with negative or positive connotation
At the beginning (Hellenistic period), the term did not have a pejorative meaning but only one of distinction; Later (medieval period), it acquired a negative connotation that referred to lack of education and unrefined customs . Thus the concept linked these people to attitudes of cruelty , crudeness and violence .
Although the behavior of these towns can fit into this description, the rest of the towns did not act in a less violent way, although perhaps more orderly . In any case, all these preconceptions led to the creation of the adjective barbarian to refer to those people who behave vulgarly .
In an almost opposite sense, barbaric is something extraordinary , out of the ordinary , positive or very good : "In a barbaric performance, Argentina defeated Brazil three to zero" , "My teacher was fantastic with his explanation of the Second World War" , "The guy got drunk and made a huge mess."
Within the framework of the European conquest of America, the aborigines were considered barbarians.
Civilization and barbarism
Under this title is understood the Spanish conquest of indigenous populations and territories, one of the most controversial topics in the history of Latin America. In this piece of history, two opposing figures were established: that of the civilized and that of the barbarian. The first, represented by the conquerors, who had a way of life considered more correct or stylized, and the second, by the natives, who led a more natural life, clinging to a culture based on traditions and a relationship of equality with the rest. of nature.
Sarmiento, whom many praise, was the promoter of the so-called conquest of the desert, whose objective was to eliminate the indigenous people from their territory to repopulate it with Creole people (born from the cross between Spaniards and natives, belonging to the civilization ). This conquest consisted of an unprecedented bloody war , four hundred years after the first arrival of the Spanish to Latin America.
Sarmiento and the barbarians
This man claimed that the harsh living conditions in rural areas required that people have to become more like animals, creating rustic lifestyles where politics and education had no place. That is why he believed it was necessary to conquer those lands, bring industry and means of transportation to form a State where all people would be reunited. Unfortunately, this idea of unification was not altruistic, but rather sought to eliminate and repopulate, to create an almost monarchical State where freedom was a good and not a right.
The ideas raised by Sarmiento are still valid in our societies, where immigrants receive different treatment depending on their country of origin; The term barbarism is so deeply rooted in social life that it leads to placing certain cultures above others hierarchically, without assuming their differences as aspects that can mutually enrich them. So much so that certain people from countries with low purchasing power are seen as inferior beings and condemned to work in unfavorable conditions, while others are treated as "gentlemen" just because of the color of their passport .