Who are the 'wild men'?

[Elmo]

Originally Posted by William Cloud Hicklin

Just to toss some more red meat into the dog-pit, I'll observe that the "fall" of Rhudaur (from the Numenorean standpoint) was effectively an Angmar-aided revolt of the native population against their minority Dunedain overlords.

Gondor conquered swathes of Rhun and the Harad as well. Small wonder men from the Northern Waste to the Southern heats turned to Sauron to drive out their Numenorean oppressors.

[Kuruharan]

Originally Posted by Elmo

Gondor conquered swathes of Rhun and the Harad as well. Small wonder men from the Northern Waste to the Southern heats turned to Sauron to drive out their Numenorean oppressors.

Which begs an interesting question of what life under Sauron's domination was like?

Tolkien spoke of the Easterlings and Haradrim being relatively primitive until the Numenoreans and Sauron (under pressure from the Numenoreans and desiring to have tools at his disposal to compete with them) started uplifting their material culture. I suspect the Numenoreans and Sauron both only wanted to give them so much to help them, but only so much as to prevent them from getting "ideas."

I wonder, was serving Sauron a choice that the ordinary Easterling or Haradrim disliked and regretted or did the two not seem so different to them?

[Leaf]

Originally Posted by William Cloud Hicklin

I'll observe that the "fall" of Rhudaur (from the Numenorean standpoint) was effectively an Angmar-aided revolt of the native population against their minority Dunedain overlords.

Originally Posted by Elmo

Gondor conquered swathes of Rhun and the Harad as well. Small wonder men from the Northern Waste to the Southern heats turned to Sauron to drive out their Numenorean oppressors.

I think it's important to be a little bit more precise. You are not making any distinction between ordinary people ("native population", "men") and the nobility, or a local political elite, as if they were identical. It seems more likely to me that a political elite (i.e. the King of Rhudaur, "Black Númenóreans") saw the opportunity to join Sauron and, with his aid, overthrow the current "oppressors" to become the undisputed "oppressors" themselves.

But then again, I don't know the exact passages in the text. Maybe you could provide them for the discussion.