• grue@lemmy.world
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          4 months ago

          It’s because that little chunk of South America is French Guiana, which is a full-fledged part of France (not just a territory, but a departement with political status equal to the ones in mainland Europe).

          It’s also where the European Space Agency launches their spacecraft from, by the way.

          • GreyEyedGhost@lemmy.ca
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            4 months ago

            Cool. I’m not sure what that has to do with the continent, though. Politically, I’m uncertain if that would count as something other than colonization, either.

            • grue@lemmy.world
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              4 months ago

              It depends what aspect of colonization is important to your definition, I guess. Is it about imperialist expansion to non-contiguous territories, or is it more specifically about extracting resources from those territories for the exclusive benefit of the motherland?

              At any rate, I would say that French Guiana either counts or doesn’t count as a colony of France to the same extent that Hawaii counts or doesn’t count as a colony of the United States.

              • GreyEyedGhost@lemmy.ca
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                4 months ago

                Edit: no need to repeat myself. I think European would have been a more reasonable label.

            • KISSmyOS@feddit.org
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              4 months ago

              There are multiple definitions of “Europe”.
              French Guyana isn’t geographically, geologically, culturally or historically part of Europe.
              But politically and legally, it is.

    • stoy@lemmy.zip
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      4 months ago

      It is interesting to see that Sweden is only three land borders away from North Korea.

      Sweden - Finland

      Finland - Russia

      Russia - DPRK

        • stoy@lemmy.zip
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          4 months ago

          How do you count that?

          I don’t see any land border connection between south America and Asia…

          But I am peobably missing something.

          • Ullallulloo@civilloquy.com
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            4 months ago

            Brazil borders France. (Amapá borders French Guiana.)

            France borders Germany.

            Germany borders Poland.

            Poland borders Belarus and Ukraine.

            Belarus and Ukraine each border Russia.

            Russia borders North Korea.

            Edit: Actually, Poland borders Russia directly. (Warmian-Masurian borders Kaliningrad.) So really it’s only five!