It's definitely a common theme around the world. I think it's not a coincidence that these places are islands or geographic crossroads where outside invasions

It's definitely a common theme around the world. I think it's not a coincidence that these places are islands or geographic crossroads where outside invasions are frequent during their history. Speaking of Japan, here's another interesting variation on the theme: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaibatsu http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaibatsu Note that the names of the Zaibatsu families are some of today's biggest names in industry and finance.