Ancient people did not have the concept of borders and anyone could freely come and go as long as the land continued, but with the development of civilization, human beings began to draw national boundaries called borders on the map. I did.
So, this time, I would like to write about the border situation of the world.
What is the border line? ??
A junior high school textbook explains borders as follows.
Country-to-country boundaries borders Is called.There are various borders in the world, but there are two main ways to decide.
- Borders using natural objects such as mountains, rivers, lakes and seas
- Artificial borders using meridians and parallels
The border line of ① is [ natural border ], ② [ Artificial border 】 Say
The language may be different, but it is written in this way.
If you look at the world map based on these things, do you see that there are curves and straight lines on the border line? The shape of these borders depends on whether they are natural or artificial borders.
Natural border France and Germany
In Europe, countries bordering each other have a history of repeated wars.
In Germany and France, coal and steel were the sources of the war.
France's Alsace Lorraine region, which stretches along the Rhine, was originally a German cultural area, blessed with mining resources and a key point of transportation, so France advocated a natural border with the Rhine as its territory. I often had wars with Germany.
Artificial borders United States and African countries
Many artificial borders using parallels and meridians exist in new countries even from a historical point of view.
In the case of the United States, that is the border with Canada and Mexico.
Also, many African countries have straight artificial borders because many of them became independent in the latter half of the 20th century. Most of them come from the colonial rule of Western countries except the United States.
This border is often set independently of the will of the people, and is one of the causes of conflict between ethnic groups.
Undecided border line:Northern India and southern Saudi Arabia
If you look at the world map, there are some areas that are marked with broken lines because the borders are undefined, or that are interrupted in the middle.
The region represented by these is northern India. It is due to the conflict between India and Pakistan over Kashmir's sovereignty.
The broken border is the desert region between Yemen in Saudi Arabia.
This is because the Saudi Arabian government did not set a border so that nomads living in the desert would not hinder their movement, and there was a dispute between the two countries over the development of oil fields in the desert.
The Saudi Arabian government has been actively promoting border demarcation negotiations with neighboring countries, emphasizing regional stability after the Gulf War. 1991 The map of Saudi Arabia does not draw borders with countries in the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula, but 2003 Is bordered except for the United Arab Emirates.
If you can get a map of two eras, it may be interesting to compare each one.
The world's strictest border that divides the Korean Peninsula
1950-1953 Korean War There is a boundary line that divides the Korean Peninsula into north and south based on the armistice agreement.
The border between South Korea and North Korea is about 248 km, and it is the most closely monitored border in the world with many weapons deployed and nearly 1 million troops stationed there.
I said it was a border, but it should be military border . Both countries claim that the Korean Peninsula is their territory.
This boundary is not separated by a brick wall or an iron fence like the old Berlin Wall, but it is as simple as a series of pillars indicating the boundary.
The agreement establishes a demilitarized zone 2 km north-south and 4 km wide across the border, prohibiting the installation of military facilities and the actions of the military. However, both the North and South have shrunk their demilitarized zones to the military demarcation line, and there are places that are as close as 300 meters, so this agreement is not necessarily strictly adhered to.
On the South Korean side, a civilian control zone has been set up on the south side of the demilitarized zone, which is strictly blocked from the general area by barbed wire, etc., and permission is required for the general public to enter.
The army is stationed in this civilian controlled area, where surveillance stands and military facilities are installed. On the Korean side alone, there are three boundaries:the military demarcation line, the southern limit line, and the civilian control line.
The railroads and roads that connected the north and south were divided for a long time, but in the 2000s, the Gyeongui Line along the Yellow Sea and the East Line along the Sea of Japan were reconnected, and they crossed the military demarcation line regularly. Freight trains are now in operation.
However, it is also a problem that it is often cut off due to the political situation in the north and south.
However, although it is a military demarcation line where free traffic is not possible, precious nature is preserved as it is because humans do not enter. Many rare species and endangered flora and fauna can be found in this demilitarized zone, and the endangered musk deers live only in this demilitarized zone.
The demilitarized zone has been designated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and is a paradise for animals, but sometimes the animals can be killed by land mines.
The world's freest border between the Netherlands and Belgium
There is a city called Baarle-Nassau in the south of the Netherlands.
Although it is about 5 kilometers away from the neighboring Belgian border, there is a Belgian territory in this city. It is strange for Japanese people to have territory of another country in Japan, but it is not unusual in Europe.
In the case of Baarle-Nassau, it is a rare city in the world that there are 7 more Dutch territories in the Belgian enlave in the Dutch territory.
The name of the city is also different between the two countries, and the Belgian side is called Baarle-Hertov.
The population was 6700 on the Dutch side and 2300 on the Belgian side, which was originally a village. It is said that the reason why the territory became so complicated was that the aristocrats who once owned the village repeatedly exchanged territories.
Therefore, even though the surrounding houses are in the Netherlands, only one house next to it may be Belgian territory, or the border may pass through one house.
It is normal for a child who goes to a Dutch school to come home from the Belgian entrance, eat in a Dutch room, and study in his own Belgian room.
In such cases, in principle, you belong to the country where the entrance is located, and you are informed by raising the national flag which country you belong to.
However, it seems that shops and the like have multiple entrances and belong to both countries. In such cases, it is said that the nationality is decided by deciding which country has the lowest tax.
Since the liquor tax is cheaper in the Netherlands, bars and restaurants are in Dutch territory, and on the contrary, there are many gas stations in Belgium where the gasoline tax is cheaper.
In the past, it seems that a Dutch ambulance dispatched in a traffic accident could not rescue an injured person who had fallen to the Belgian side, but now the townspeople are completely unaware of the border. , I am free to live my daily life.
1993 The EU was established in Japan, and the whole of Europe became border-free, but in fact, the Netherlands and Belgium played a role as border-free pioneers. After World War II, the two countries, sandwiched between Germany and France, formed the Benelux Alliance with Luxembourg in an attempt to achieve economic independence.
Tariffs have been abolished among these three countries and the same tariffs have been applied to other countries.
By cooperating with each other in this way, the economic power was enhanced, the voice in the international community was secured, and eventually the ECSC was formed with the large countries such as Germany and France, which led to the establishment of the EU through EC. rice field.
The EU is now a major economic zone with 28 member countries, a total population of over 500 million, and a GDP that exceeds that of the United States.