User blog comment:Gamer124/Races of Nirn and Cultures of Earth Similarities/@comment-5737364-20130216030929

Honestly, the races of Mer and Beastfolk may not have Earthen counterparts, as they are more original. I will admit that I am no Earthen history buff, most of this is guesswork. If I had to throw a shot in the dark, though, I would say that;

Bosmer are almost Native-American-esque due to their being misunderstood by "civilized races", their fondness for nature, their habit for painting their bodies, their lack of unified government, their organization into clan/tribe like groups.

Dunmer could be considered Japanese or Chinese, in some ways. Agriculture, for one. Specifically the planting of saltrice as a main source of food. As another, their religious persuits have some similarities to wizards of House Telvanni. But most notably are the similarities between House Redoran, a warrior-house, and the Feudal-era Japanese Samurai who lived according to Bushido.

Altmer could be considered any number of cultures, depending on which points you decide to capitalize on. This would be a rather hard one to pin down to a single culture, honestly.

Bretons could be considered French (Breton - Brittany), with their French names. The Breton page also voices the possibility that they are similar to one of the cultures that dominated Europe but then clashed with Rome, who won. This led to an Celtic-Latin hybrid of sorts.