How does a country's history?

Question

shape it's people?

I ask this as I heard a quote from the South African cricket captain (name escapes me), saying that South African people are naturally aggressive because of the history of that country

Answer 1

I can't speak for SA; I am an American, and certainly the aggressiveness in our history as shown by the Boston Tea Party, the Declaration, the Rev War, and oh so many other wars, has molded the American character. We are an aggressive nation--and proudly so. We believe what we are is worth fighting for.

Answer 2

Imagine that, in your country, men were always lower on the social scale than women. That throughout the history of your country, women ruled, women made the laws, and were given advantages that men couldn't begin to even hope for. That men had to literally fight for even the most basic needs. This would make the present day population of the country one in which the men were subservient, kinda docile and because of it, no matter where they went in the world, they would be the same, deferring to women, etc...because, the history of their country had set that attitude, that cultural, educational upbringing in their minds, as part of their daily lives.

That's how the history of a country can affect the people who live in it.

Answer 3

Well, of course, we don't want to generalize about any particular groups, but I think there's some truth to this. For example, the Germans are stereotyped as being overly ernest, practical, and with a strong sense of duty. This can be explained by the development of the Prussian hegemony in what is now Germany. The Holy Roman Empire was composed of many different states, among which, Prussia was a smaller, minor one. Frederick III, the Elector of Brandenburg, crowned himself King Frederick I of Prussia. At the time, he was laughed at by the other European leaders, because Prussia was tiny and dirt poor. However, Frederick I had great plans for Prussia. Through his efforts and those of his descendants, Prussia developed a strong bureaucracy and military and managed to develop a Prussian hegemony. As they were developing their bureaucracy and military, their people trained to be serious, thorough, dutiful, and respectful of authority.