Empires and Imperialism was: XBOX 360 2720

A simple definition:

A *nation* is a country like France or Norway or Poland, the national homeland of the French, Norwegian, or Polish people.

An *empire* is a state like the Russian Empire, which had Ukranians, Byelorussians, Tatars, Finns, and other people in it in addition to Russians.

Thus, a state is an empire instead of a nation when it rules over people of multiple ethnic groups, particularly when groups other than the principal one are subject.

Of course, what with Basques and Bretagnes, France is really an empire then, too.

Democracies, where minority ethnic groups are treated equally, are usually not termed empires; thus, Canada and the United States are typically not termed empires, despite the presence of French Canadians in Canada, Hawaiians in the United States, and various Native Americans or First Nations individuals in both countries.

Basically, an empire is a bad thing; the ideal world is where, except for the odd immigrant, everyone was like a Dane living in Denmark - living at home in a nation that was also the homeland of one's own ethnic group - and having no more need to learn a second language than a native English speaker living in the United States. We are far from achieving this at present; many people live under social, political, and economic domination by others who have a different language, culture, and religion.

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