What if borders were just a parenthesis in history?

We live in a world divided by thousands of kilometers of borders. Have these lines, which are anything but neutral, always existed? Absolutely not. When it comes to our distant cousins in the animal kingdom, primates do indeed have an idea of territory. However, it all depends on the race: chimpanzees are more territorial than bonobos. Why are chimpanzees more territorial than bonobos? It all has to do with the abundance of resources. There's less need to protect territory when food, among other things, is abundant.

Many people see the appearance of the Roman limes as the first human frontiers in the strict sense. But they were not. Above all, they were sea or land passageways guarded by legions to repel enemy incursions. However, these lines were porous and served mainly for trade.

The Middle Ages won't exactly simplify things, since the limits of a domain or kingdom depend on who's there, alliances and so on. These moved around a lot, and it wasn't until the 30 Years' War - an incredible slaughter - that the concept of the nation-state was born in Europe, along with the first real borders.

Yet borders have appeared on every continent. Colonialism led to the creation of these "fictitious" territories decided upon by European colonizers, sometimes forcibly uniting peoples with nothing in common.

This explains why internal conflicts are still frequent in Africa and other parts of the world. It wasn't until the First World War, however, that the idea of passports requiring identification to enter territories and limit population movements emerged.

Today, we find ourselves in a world that has never been so marked out, yet places like the Shengen area show that it is possible to do things differently.

Running time: 24min10

Image: Tung Lam from Pixabay