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Mountains as borders throughout history

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I asked this question on several forums and no one knows more than two examples. Those were history forums. Obviously historians doesnt know much about geography.

 

Can someone knows examples where mountain ranges created borders between diffrent ethnic groups ?

 

Any good geographer here?

 

 

Thanx in advance and sorry for english.

I'm not sure what the definition of an "ethnic group" is but Papua New Guinea has over 850 different languages and this is thought to be because small groups are isolated by the mountainous countryside.

It's a little simplistic, but the country of Wales is split from England by mountainous terrain, and the Welsh are fairly convincingly a different ethnic group (for example, they have a very different language from England).

Italy is largely split from the rest of Europe by mountains.

Ditto France and Spain and Argentina/ Chile.

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Ditto France and Spain and Argentina/ Chile.

 

What mountain is between France and Spain and Argentina-Chile ? Andes and Alps?

I asked this question on several forums and no one knows more than two examples. Those were history forums. Obviously historians doesnt know much about geography.

 

 

 

I can't believe that is true, i would have thought geography essential knowledge for history. Or maybe that's archaeologists.

 

It seems mountains played some part in Chinese history too: check out the warring states period and the 3 kingdoms period.

 

Btw, it's the Pyrenees between Spain and France.

As Prometheus suggests, it is doubtful that any serious historian would not have a sound knowledge of geography, given its impact on history from the local, to the global.

 

The cultural, economic and linguistic history of the peoples on either side of the Urals was distinctive until Russian expansion spread to the East. The Himalaya represent a huge barrier between the populous Indian sub-continent and the sparsely populated Tibetan plateau.

 

I suspect if you investigate the history of any mountain range and its bordering regions you will find many important distinctions: linguistic, economic, religious, cultural and political.

Personally I think that mountain ranges most of the time separate different ethnic groups because of the following: often different climates on opposite sides of mountain range and within the range itself, mountains stop propagation of people, they reduce the chances of communication between peoples living on opposite sides, terrain and climate have a major effect on culture and language if you define ethnic group as a "group of people linked by common ancestry and/or culture".

 

I'm very surprised that historians wouldn't know that. Probably these are not the droids you're looking for forums you should go to.

  • 2 months later...

I asked this question on several forums and no one knows more than two examples. Those were history forums. Obviously historians doesnt know much about geography.

 

Can someone knows examples where mountain ranges created borders between diffrent ethnic groups ?

 

Any good geographer here?

 

 

Thanx in advance and sorry for english.

The Alps, Urals, Himalayas are good examples.

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