I like to study history a bit further than most people — probably not as deep as “professional” historians, but deep enough to know that much of what drives nations and foreign policies is more mythologized history than actual truth.

During this Christmas break, maybe it is time to take a quick look at just a few of the common misconceptions that many people hold — and yes, these misconceptions do affect us, and our government policies, to this day.

1) The French are Latins.

Sacré bleu!  What an exaggeration.  The French are primarily Celtic, descended from Gauls.  The Romans imposed a Latin tongue on them, like how the English imposed their language on the Welsh.  But language is not DNA.

Many of the Roman troops and later Italians who settled in France were themselves the descendants of Cisalpine Gauls — the ancient Gauls who had migrated to North/Alpine Italy when Rome was just starting.  These “Romans/Italians” were just Celts returning home, albeit centuries later.

The Basque of southwest France and the Germans of Alsace-Lorraine are a relatively small percentage of the population.  The conquering Franks of the sixth century were a minority elite.  And the Bretons in Brittany are descendants of British Celts, who Julius Caesar said were related to the Gauls.  They also were just coming home.  The result is that the native French — apart from recent Arab immigrants — are remarkably homogenous, particularly in the northern half of the country.  Sadly, the Arabs, heavily around Marseilles, do stand out.

But the fact is that France, though it has a Latin reputation, is far more stable and productive than Italy.

2) Spain is a united entity.

Actually, Spain could be broken up into a few distinct countries: the semi-Celtic/semi-Portuguese Galicians, the Basque, the Calatans, the despised Andalusians, and the classic Spanish.  These people are sometimes on the verge of insurrection.  What is amazing is that Madrid managed to keep them together, often by brute force.  Without admiration, it has to be admitted that without Franco, Spain would have blown apart in the 1930s.

3) Scotland is Celtic.

The name “Scotland” comes from the Irish settlers who moved to Argyll in the 4th to 6th centuries.  The Irish at that time called themselves Gaels or Scots — Scots being a demonym taken from the semi-historical origin story of the Irish, who claim they originated from Scythia. (Scyt → Scot).  These Scots mixed with a related Celtic tribe, the Picts (what the Romans called them), who also claimed a Scythian ancestry, and who had taken Gaelic wives from the Scots.  From these Scythian Celts came the name Scotland (which etymologically means land of the Irish) and the Highlander clans.

Sounds Celtic/Gaelic?  Certainly, the Highlanders were.

But the Lowland Scots were of Anglo-Saxon/Viking/Danish/Norman ancestry.  They were all but indistinguishable from the English, both being Germanic in ancestry.  These eventually took over Scotland.  Probably 80% of the Highlanders (those descended from the Gaels/Picts) were driven out in the Highland Clearances.

The real Scots ended up in North Carolina and Nova Scotia.  Only the name Scotland remained.  This is not the only time in history that a conquering people adopted the name of the vanquished natives.  Think of North and South Dakota.

How does this affect Scotland?  Despite the clamor for independence, most of the remaining Scottish are all but genetically English and do not want secession.  When a Scot has Highland blood, it is probably a small quantum.  Much of the clamor for Scottish independence comes from the Irish who migrated to Scotland after the 19th-century potato famine.  Ironically, right after England drove out the Celtic Highlanders, they were replaced by the related Celtic Irish (the original Scots) from whom the Highlanders descended.  It was Celtic revenge.

By the way, Ireland was not called Ireland until the Norman invasions.

4) Latin America is mestizo.

Actually, many countries in Latin America are very European.  Chile, Uruguay, Argentina, and Costa Rica are very “white.”  Brazil is half-white, with South Brazil being heavily Italian and German.

Where the Latins differ is in the definition of white.  In America, white usually meant 100% European in ancestry.  In Latin America, white meant majority-European in ancestry.  Oddly, as a percentage, Argentina may be more European than America, on a national genomic level.  However, about half those whites will have a small measure of indigenous blood.

And not just Spanish.  Argentina is heavily Italian, with large German and Ukrainian communities.  This can affect their politics.  Argentina has a history of being very racist.

Hence during WW2, with about 80% (or more) of Argentina being descended from Spain, Italy, and Germany (the fascist powers of Europe), the elites of Argentina were reluctant to join the war effort against the Axis, even though the populace was pro-Allied.

5) Latin America is solidly Catholic.

Maybe fifty years ago, but no longer. 

Protestants outnumber Catholics in Guatemala, Honduras...almost caught up in Nicaragua...catching up in Brazil, Costa Rica, etc.

And this greatly affects politics.  With one third of Brazil being Evangelical — who are usually pro-Israel — even Brazil’s president, Lula da Silva, has to tone down his anti-Zionism.  Latin America is having an Evangelical Revival of sorts, which our media up here are ignoring.  The result is phenomenal.  Brazil’s former president, Bolsonaro, was baptized by an Evangelical in the River Jordan, and his administration was very pro-Israel.  Guatemala is heavily pro-Israel.

While leftists, and Latins of Arab descent, are entrenched up in Latin America’s elites, the populace is welling up with a pro-Israel theology, thus proving that God, not the elites, is in charge of history.

6) The Great Replacement is a myth.

Actually, whites are being replaced, but this is not a new trend.  Whites once roamed out to the border of China.  The Uyghurs of Xinjiang in Western China carry a lot of Indo-European (white) DNA.

This explains why a few Uyghurs have light eyes or hair.

The fall of Rome saw Hunnic and Avars attacking Indo-European areas.  Asian peoples hammered Indo-Europeans from the east.  To the south, waves of Muslims hammered Western peoples who, at that time, constituted the majority of North Africa.  Iran (Persia) used to be a white country.  Islamic invasions put an end to that, though ethnic Persians can still pass for Italian.

In 711, Moorish forces took most of Spain, and their 800-year residence permanently affected the genetics of the Spanish.  Prior to A.D. 711, half of Spain was either Celtic or Visigothic (German) in inheritance.  The chef José Andrés, who hails from Northern Spain, which was never conquered by the Moors, probably represents what many pre-Moorish Spaniards looked like.

In 1683, Muslim forces almost took Vienna.

The former rise and expansion of Western populations worldwide from the 15th to 19th centuries was a result of the scientific and industrial revolutions and was not typical throughout history.  The present decrease in percentages is mostly self-inflicted.  Stopping immigration would only arrest the problem, not reverse it.

Sweden, Ireland, and Norway — arguably the whitest countries in Europe — are now only 80% native in ancestry.

The solution is to convince white women to once again have three or four children.  I am calling not for white supremacy, but for self-respect.  Leftist wokism will not allow Westerners to have self-respect.

Mike Konrad, who still struggles with Spanish, is a frustrated web designer and is presently trying to get a humorous short story of his published: “The Pirate of Gaza.”

Image: Tom Hilton via Flickr, CC BY 2.0.