The Holy Roman Empire was established by Charlemagne in 800AD, and lasted a thousand years until Napoleon caused its collapse. It included Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, and Austria, plus large parts of France, Italy, and Poland -- all of these countries became sovereign nations around 1815, making them younger than the USA!
In fact, if you look at countries by
date of last subordination, the US is actually the 10th oldest "country" in the world after:
- Bhutan (autonomous since at least the 10th century)
- United Kingdom (1066)
- Turkey (1243)
- Iran (1335)
- Russia (1480)
- Sweden (1523)
- Oman (1743)
- Thailand (1768)
- Nepal (probably not conquered since the 4th century, but established as a kingdom in 1768)
- USA (1781 -- they declared independence in 1776; they got it in 1781)
Spain doesn't even make the list, because although it threw off Muslim rule in the 13th century, Napoleon installed his brother as King from 1808 to 1814. Hard cheese, old chaps.
(You have no idea how long I've been waiting to use that phrase.)
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