Historical regions (or historical areas) are
geographical region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
s which at some point in time had a
cultural
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human Society, societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, and habits of the ...
,
ethnic,
linguistic or
political basis, regardless of latterday borders. They are used as delimitations for studying and analysing social development of
period-specific cultures without any reference to contemporary political, economic or social organisations.
The fundamental principle underlying this view is that older political and mental structures exist which exercise greater influence on the spatial-social identity of individuals than is understood by the contemporary world, bound to and often blinded by its own worldview - e.g. the focus on the nation-state.
Definitions of regions vary,
[xiii, Tägil] and regions can include
macroregions such as Europe, territories of traditional
states or smaller
microregional areas. A geographic proximity is the often required precondition for emergence of a
regional identity.
In Europe, the regional identities are often derived from the
Migration Period
The Migration Period was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories by various tribes, and the establishment of the post-Roman ...
but for the contemporary perspective are often related to the
1918–1920 time of territorial transformation, and another in the
post-Cold War period.
Some regions are entirely invented, such as the
Middle East in 1902 by a
military strategist,
Alfred Thayer Mahan, to refer to the area of the Persian Gulf.
[p. 65, Lewis, Wigen]
Lists
*
Anatolia
*
Armenia
*
Central Europe
* Denmark (
Lands /
Districts
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
)
* Finland (
Historical
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
/
Former
A former is an object, such as a template, gauge or cutting die, which is used to form something such as a boat's hull. Typically, a former gives shape to a structure that may have complex curvature.
A former may become an integral part of the ...
)
* Greece (
Ancient /
Traditional
A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...
/
Geographic)
*
Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
*
Portugal
*
Serbia
* Sweden (
Lands /
Provinces)
*
United States
References
Works cited
* Sven Tägil, (ed.), ''Regions in Central Europe: The Legacy of History'', C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, 1999
* Marko Lehti, David James Smith, ''Post-Cold War Identity Politics: Northern and Baltic Experiences'', Routledge, 2003
* Compiled by V. M. Kotlyakov, A. I. Komarova, ''Elsevier's dictionary of geography: in English, Russian, French, Spanish, German'', Elsevier, 2006
* Martin W. Lewis, Kären Wigen, ''The Myth of Continents: A Critique of
Metageography
Metageography is a term used by Martin W. Lewis and Kären E. Wigen's 1997 '' The Myth of Continents: A Critique of Metageography'', which analyzes metageographical constructs such as "East", "West", "Europe", "Asia", "North" or "South". which t ...
'', University of California Press, 1997
Further reading
* Susan Smith-Peter, ''Imagining Russian Regions: Subnational Identity and Civil Society in Nineteenth-Century Russia'', Brill, 2017
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