To: jbe who wrote (1135 ) 11/2/1999 12:05:00 AM From: Neocon Read Replies (1) | Respond to
Actually, most European states were not monoethnic. Not only is there the glaring example of the Austrian Empire, but the Russian Empire as well. Additionally, Poland embraced large minorities of Jews, Ukrainians, Lithuanians, and Germans at various times. In France, not only are there large ethnic divisions among the various regions (Brittany and Normandy have a largely Celtic and Scandinavian background, for example), but the indigenous dialectics were, at the beginning of the century, almost different languages. In Spain, the regions do practically speak different languages, such as Catalan, and the Galicia is considered to speak a dialect of Portugese. Britain is certainly not monoethnic, even without Ireland. In Italy, the North has more of a Germanic (Ostrogothic) mix, and the South is more Mediterranean. Sicilians practically speak a different language, as do those in the poorest parts of the south. Belgium is, of course, binational, and Switzerland trinational. Scandinavia is fairly homogeneous (discounting the Laps), and so is Germany. On the other hand, I have known a few Bavarians, for example, and they generally despise Prussians, so I presume that there is a good deal of regionalism even in Germany.
