> Border regions between cultures are usually a mix of the two
> cultures - the farther you go towards the border, the less you
> can tell the two peoples apart.
Interestingly/amusingly, while river valleys are natural *cradles* for cultures, it seems that nations eventually come to believe that the rivers themselves are their natural frontiers, neatly bisecting the similar-on-both-sides valley-folk into rival nations...
Q: is anyone aware of a nation ever choosing to "retreat behind its natural frontiers" (rather than "expand until it reaches its natural frontiers"? :-)
Cheers, Nick
PS: Switzerland doesn't count!
PPS: OK, so I'm being whimsical today.
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