The term "native" can have many ifferent social and political connotations, in different contexts. In some cases it is a neutral, descriptive term - as in stating that one is a native of a particular city or that a certain language is one's native language. However, in the context of colonialism - in particular, British colonialism - the term "natives", as applied to the inhabitants of colonies, assumed a disparaging and patronising sense, implying that the people concerned were incapable of taking care of themselves and in need of Europeans to administer their lives; therefore, these people resent the use of the term and consider it insulting, and at present Europeans usually avoid using it. Conversely, the original inhabitants of America - who during the process of being conquered and dispossessed were usually not called "natives" but "Indians" or "Red Indians" - have adopted at their own initiative the appellation "Native Americans", and bear it with pride. And in the context of Nativism, in some periods a potent political force, "natives" are defined as a (predominantly white) group deserving of a special privileged position in comparison to immigrants.