I was talking with my AP European History teacher and she didn't know. So, I figured I would ask some well-read historians.
hi! more input is welcome; meanwhile get started on these previous discussions
Why are some countries popularly depicted referring to their country as the "motherland" (eg Russia) and others as the "fatherland" (eg Germany)?
Why did Russians in WW2 refer to Russia as the motherland? And why did the Germans refer to Germany as the fatherland in WW2?
Why are some countries referred to as male or female? When/where did this arise?
more examples