Definition of a Nation

"In an anthropological spirit, then, I propose the following definition of the nation: it is an imagined political community- and imagined as both inherently limited and sovereign (Anderson 1991). Philippines as a nation was born due to many sequence of events that happened throughout history, but one of the most important ones was the coming of the Spaniards to the islands. In the 1898 the Philippines nation was born out of the decision of the leaders and members of the rebellion. It was an imagined political community, because people who share a common history, culture, and language, experience a sense of unity with each other even if they do not know most of their fellow-members. They believed that the islands occupied by the Spaniards should be set free and these islands were only to be governed by nativesÐ'--later called FilipinosÐ'--appointed by natives themselves. Based on the definition, a nation is inherently limited because of the number of people who share a common history, culture, and language, are living in a definite territory that separates and distinguishes other nations from each other. It is the same case for all nations, specifically with the Philippines, which has a total number of 7,108 islands that belongs to its people. A nation is inherently sovereign because its people, who share a common history, language, and culture are the ones who make up the nation, they are the ones who influence and govern their nation as a whole. To sum it all up, nations exists because of its people, who share a common history, culture, and languages, has a definite territory of their own, and are independent from control by other nations in its political functions.

Reference:

Anderson, B. (1991). Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. Revised Edition ed. London and New York: Verso.