Herodotus (d.425 BC), the Greek historian points out in his historical narratives that nature has created rivers, mountains, and oceans to separate nations from each other so that they could live peacefully in isolation. Man violates the barriers of nature by building bridges on rivers, digging tunnels in mountains and constructing ships to cross oceans. The results of this violation are wars and clashes among nations. Powerful nations dominate over the weak ones by sometimes disturbing their peaceful and harmonious life through war and conflict.

When Herodotus wrote these lines, he perhaps had in his mind the disastrous and bloody effects of war between Persia and Greek. In the 5th century BC, the Persians invaded Greece by crossing over the bridge over the river of Hellespont built by King Xerxes (d.465 BC). The Persians also used navy to fight the Athenian naval forces. The Battle of Thermopylae battle followed where 300 Spartans were killed along with the Helots, their allies. On his return, Xerxes found that the bridge he had built on the river was broken by the strong waves of a flood. He became so angry that he ordered his men to flog the river. Here, Herodotus wants to show the despotism of a Persian king. It was probably this event which inspired him to argue that nations should live untroubled in their own specific space.

Gottfried Herder (d.1803), the German philosopher had similar views. According to him, nations live in a particular geographical space and cultivate their own culture based on their environment. Through centuries, their languages, traditions, experiences, values and norms are passed from one generation to another. A Chinese remains a Chinese wherever he goes. He retains his characteristics and hardly changes his behaviour. Therefore, Herder’s argument was that the culture of every nation should be preserved and remain unpolluted by the interruption of foreign influence. To some critics, Herder’s philosophy is not only nationalistic but also racist. His main concern was to protect the purity of the German culture. Another German philosopher Gottlieb Fichte (d.1814) was so insecure about foreign influences that he suggested a ban on German people travelling to other countries. Germany at the time was not a united country but divided into 300 small states and duchies therefore the German intellectuals’ logic behind their philosophy was based on their vulnerability and preservation of cultural unity.

Nations must learn to live to together in peace and harmony

We have a few examples of nations that remained isolated and created a highly developed civilisation. China for instance remained aloof from other nations, condescending foreign interference and not learning anything from them because of their cultural arrogance. They invented technology which remained confined to China for a long time as foreign contact was discouraged.

On the other hand, it is believed that a nation cannot live in isolation. To learn and share from others is important. History shows that despite all efforts to restrict and control, an invention cannot remain confined to one nation but gradually spreads to other countries. For example, the Chinese produced silk but kept the secret of silkworm to themselves. Any violation meant death penalty. However, despite restrictions, the silkworms were stolen by the Nestorian priests, who introduced the art of manufacturing silk to Italians. Traders also played an important role in bringing commodities from other places to their own countries. The Egyptians did not have forests and needed wood to build their monuments. Hence wood was brought from Lebanon to fulfill the requirement of the ruling classes who used it in their palaces and tombs. In the medieval period, the Roman traders brought silk from China which was in great demand by the Roman aristocratic women. European traders travelled to Asia for spices. China could not keep its inventions a secret as the art of manufacturing gunpowder and paper soon became widespread in Asia and Europe.

Imperialism was considered exploitative as it occupied other countries, used their natural resources and robbed their wealth. But when it challenged the institutions and traditions of the occupied lands, they tried to reform their weaknesses. The European imperialists pressurised the Asian and African countries not only to construct and reconstruct their societies but also launched nationalist movements. The lesson of history is that if nations live in isolation and prohibit learning from other cultures, the result is decay and decline of its own culture. For instance, the US before its discovery in 1492, lived in isolation and became an easy victim of the invading European forces who were equipped with new technology that was not available to Native Americans. Sharing, not isolation is the key for survival of nations. A nation benefits through the creativity and innovation of other nations, which helps it to contribute to world civilisation and culture.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, October 25th, 2015

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