Over the centuries the rulers of various parts of Europe tried to get their populations to feel a primary loyalty to the territory that they ruled over. They wielded myths of ‘nation’ and the nation’s enemies in order to do this. Their success varied. The monarchs of the Scandinavian countries, England, much of France, Poland, and the territories that became the Netherlands, were particularly successful. But there were always exceptions, where more local identities survived: Scotland, Catalonia, the Basque country, Bavaria, to some extent Wales and Brittany, many of the regions and cities of Italy. The whole business – both the creation of national identities and local resistances to them – was highly arbitrary. But the arbitrary can be very powerful if backed by powerful political forces and a lengthy history – even (or perhaps even especially) a mythical history. This is no place for rationality!