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I'm a bit of an early New England colonial history buff and I seem to remember hearing or reading somewhere that the tradition of miniature portraits came about to fill the simple need for portable portraits.
Before there was the camera what do you think you would put in a locket?
These miniature portraits were given to loved ones or relatives and used by those who would be away, just as we may carry a photo today of our kids or wife in our wallet or have a small picture on our desk at work.
If you were a sea captain or a soldier you might have a miniature portrait done of your wife or other loved one to carry at sea or on a military campaign. That is the reason you will see many miniature portraits on ivory, which is very stable in harsh environments, or in a hinged frame to protect it.
Some were painted in reverse on glass. Those always amazed me. I just can't imagine painting the highlights and every thing that you would normally paint last, first. But that is how they did it.
So, I do not think this is a tradition that is limited to any geographical area, but by the fact that people from Imperial nations (those with colonies) had a need to travel to other areas and may be away from their loved ones for an extended period of time may make these more common in these countries, or their former colonies.
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