In the world, Americans have various nicknames - Pindos, Gringos, Yankees, you can recall some others. You can read about the origin of the nickname "Pindos" in one of the previously published articles, and here we will try to find out why many in the world call Americans "Yankees".
First of all, I would like to note that obviously not all Americans believe that the word "Yankees" is offensive, since one of the most popular baseball teams in the United States is officially called the New York Yankees. The song "Yankee Doodle" is now the official song of the state of Connecticut, and during the Revolutionary War it was almost the anthem of an emerging power. Yes, and Mark Twain apparently respected his "Yankees" from Connecticut, by the will of fate, were among the courtiers of King Arthur.
Even the Americans themselves cannot now determine exactly where the word Yankees came from. However, it is known for certain that this was the name given to his soldiers from New England by the British General James Wolfe, the hero of the Seven Years War, and it was in 1758. Some researchers believe that the brave warrior associated this word with the two-faced Janus, among the main features of this god were duplicity, cowardice, and unpredictability. But the word itself clearly could have appeared earlier.
According to one version, the word "Yankee" could have come from the Dutch "Yanke", which literally means "little Yang". There are 2 more similar variants associated with the name Jan - in the first of them, the second name Kees, popular in Holland, was added to Jan, so that the result was Jankees. In the 17th century in America there were many colonists from the Netherlands, even New York was originally called New Amsterdam, so the options are quite logical. There is also an assumption that "Jan" was called in the New World immigrants from Northern Germany, as we used to call the Germans "Fritz". In any case, "Yankee" was a rather contemptuous word. It is also impossible to ignore the version according to which the word "Yankees" appeared thanks to the indigenous population of North America. If you believe the Oxford English Dictionary with the word "eankke" the Cherokee Indians called the inhabitants of New England so, wishing to emphasize their cowardice. There is also a version that the word "Yankees" is the self-name of the colonists who arrived from overseas, who were called English, distorted by the Indians. True, most of the colonists do not agree with the version of the Indian origin of the word.
During the War of Independence, the word "Yankees" was used by the soldiers of the English army and the residents of the American colonies who remained loyal to the mother country, contemptuously called the native inhabitants of New England, who rebelled against the "legitimate" ruler. Even Horatio Nelson, in his letter to US leaders, called them the Yankees. The Second War of Independence (the Anglo-American War of 1812-1815) only strengthened the popularity of the word Yankees, and this is how British fighters called their opponents in general, and not just the inhabitants of New England.
The civil war in the United States led to the fact that at first the soldiers of the Confederate States of America used the word "Yankees" to refer to all their opponents, the northerners.
The civil war in the United States led to the fact that at first the soldiers of the Confederate States of America used the word "Yankees" to refer to all their opponents, the northerners. But already in 1863, a large number of recruited soldiers from among the immigrants who had recently arrived from Europe appeared in the army of the North. It was no longer possible to call the word "Yankees" by indiscriminate soldiers-northerners, but after the defeat of the Confederation, this word acquired a truly derogatory meaning - this is how they began to call the hunters who came from the North with one suitcase for easy money, who were certainly cowardly, cunning and greedy.
The First World War led to the spread of the word in English-speaking countries. On the Western Front (where, according to the famous writer, there was no change), soldiers of Great Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other countries of the British Empire took part in the battles. And in 1918, large contingents of US troops began to arrive at the front. To specifically point to the warriors of the United States, the inhabitants of other English-speaking countries began to call them indiscriminately Yankees. At the same time, the word "Yankees" was not very popular in other states.
Promotional video:
American paratroopers before disembarking on * D * day, June 6, 1944
The situation was changed by the Second World War - the Americans fought on many fronts, were engaged in escorting convoys to the Soviet Union. Enemies, especially German soldiers, called them "cowardly Yankees", as if emphasizing the braver actions of the British in North Africa. The allies continued to call the Americans simply Yankees, and soon this word became cross-border, covering the whole world.
The next moment turned out to be surprising - the word "Yankees" began to call all the inhabitants of North America, not excluding even African Americans. And their origin as colonists from New England, the author of the article raises strong doubts. True, it should be noted that recently the word "Yankees" in Russian-speaking states is increasingly being replaced by the dismissive "Pindos".
