I am reading The Merchant of Venice, and several times in the play the Jewish moneylender Shylock refers to his nation, meaning the Jewish people. How would audiences of the time have understood the concept of a nation? Would they consider themselves members of the English nation? Or the Christian nation? Would geographical boundaries or governance matter to their definition? Shakespeare predates what most would consider the modern concept of nationalism and I’m curious as to what the concept would mean at that time.