Why were Native Americans called "indians"?

[mayfly13]

They had and have nothing in common with South Asians.
Neither culturally, nor phenotypically, nor in their response to British occupation.

Why were Australian natives called "aboriginals" by British colonists, whereas North American natives - "Indians"?

 

[rae121452]

missed that day in 3rd grade history class, did you?

 

[pecksniff]

Because Columbus remained convinced to the end of his life that the Caribbean islands were the East Indies.

 

[Philthy_Phil]

Because they didn't want to be called pakis.

 

[Sean Renaud]

Sailor A: I've been to India, this isn't India
Columbus: Well that's fine, I was aiming for those islands near India.
Sailor B: This ain't them neither. Been there.
Columbus: These ships are mine, there are two kinds of people here, the people who believe those people are Indians from the East Indies and those who are staying here.
Sailors A and B: We were mistaken sir. Those are definitely Indians.

 

[pointless]

Sailor A: I've been to India, this isn't India
Columbus: Well that's fine, I was aiming for those islands near India.
Sailor B: This ain't them neither. Been there.
Columbus: These ships are mine, there are two kinds of people here, the people who believe those people are Indians from the East Indies and those who are staying here.
Sailors A and B: We were mistaken sir. Those are definitely Indians.

explorers.

 

[Champakian]

missed that day in 3rd grade history class, did you?

I don't think that she was in a US school in 3rd grade...

 

[LupusDei]

Because of fraud.

Columbus couldn't hope to get money for pure exploration expedition, even if he had obtained a globe map charting out a whole unknown continent in the, at the time unexplored hemisphere.

Scientists told him he's crazy, that there's nothing but water all the way around, much too far to sail in one go. They didn't believe ancient fantasy maps either.

Posibility for cutting the time off, the long and dangerous round trip of Africa out from the spices trading route with India did catch attention of wealthy, ignorant investors. So Columbus coopted a controversial pseudoscience theory that claimed the Earth is significantly smaller than the very well known (indirect) measurements shown, and that merely crossing Atlantic westward would bring him to India. That worked, he got his founding.

So he sailed, and found land exactly where it had to be. But for his investors he couldn't admit it's a whole new continent. Nobody was interested in that. So he pretended to have discovered "West India" and of course it had to be inhabited by "Indians" right?

 

[mayfly13]

I don't think that she was in a US school in 3rd grade...

lol my stupidity and ignorance surprised even myself.
I knew about Columbus, but somehow I associated him only with South America.
Nevertheless, the jokes in this thread were really good & I laughed.

What struck me tho about the native people from the "New Worlds", is how differently they are described by writers from colonists' countries:
aboriginals in Australia and native South Americans are basically described as 'pure hearted' but primitives
then come Maoris - described as a tad more sophisticated
and the most flattering descriptions are those of innuits from Canada, followed by North Ameeicans.

 

[mayfly13]

Because of fraud.

Columbus couldn't hope to get money for pure exploration expedition, even if he had obtained a globe map charting out a whole unknown continent in the, at the time unexplored hemisphere.

Scientists told him he's crazy, that there's nothing but water all the way around, much too far to sail in one go. They didn't believe ancient fantasy maps either.

Posibility for cutting the time off, the long and dangerous round trip of Africa out from the spices trading route with India did catch attention of wealthy, ignorant investors. So Columbus coopted a controversial pseudoscience theory that claimed the Earth is significantly smaller than the very well known (indirect) measurements shown, and that merely crossing Atlantic westward would bring him to India. That worked, he got his founding.

So he sailed, and found land exactly where it had to be. But for his investors he couldn't admit it's a whole new continent. Nobody was interested in that. So he pretended to have discovered "West India" and of course it had to be inhabited by "Indians" right?

Yeah, but once they realized that it's a different continent, why tf didn't they change their names? So ... colonialist

By the way, I was browsing Wikipedia and
-- besides the shock of seeing that territories were marked as 'New England', 'New France', 'New Spain' -- as if they'd been uninhabited

there was also 'New Russia'!
Not just in Alaska, they tried to expand in California too!
And they tried to preach Orthodox Christianity to Alaskan natives too. But it obviously didn't gel with them, lol

 

[Champakian]

Trust me, at this point, if you had been in a US school in the 3rd grade,
you might be a lot less educated than you are now.

Currently, education comes in third.

And not like that great book, "I am Third."

Or even a third like Ender Wiggin...

 

[Sean Renaud]

explorers.

Well that sucks. I thought I was original for a split second.

 

[Champakian]

Yeah, but once they realized that it's a different continent, why tf didn't they change their names? So ... colonialist

By the way, I was browsing Wikipedia and
-- besides the shock of seeing that territories were marked as 'New England', 'New France', 'New Spain' -- as if they'd been uninhabited

there was also 'New Russia'!
Not just in Alaska, they tried to expand in California too!
And they tried to preach Orthodox Christianity to Alaskan natives too. But it obviously didn't gel with them, lol

They strike me more as Presbyterians...

 

[pecksniff]

Because Columbus remained convinced to the end of his life that the Caribbean islands were the East Indies.

Even though he never found there the expected products of the East Indies, such as ginger and black pepper.

 

[BidudeinWi]

They had and have nothing in common with South Asians.
Neither culturally, nor phenotypically, nor in their response to British occupation.

Why were Australian natives called "aboriginals" by British colonists, whereas North American natives - "Indians"?

Who gives a fuck?

 

[LukSkyFokker]

I don't think that she was in a US school in 3rd grade...

History changes from nations? Also, "she.?" Lol.