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Delineating Europe

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One of the seven continents, but it is not a distinct landmass (actually an appendage or subcontinent of Eurasia). The culture region made up of the countries of Eurasia lying west of Turkey, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova. The traditional physical dividing line between Europe and Asia is drawn from the Ural Mountains down to the Caucasus, which technically places the majority of the above-mentioned countries within Europe.

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Europe's (Relative) Location Advantages

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Crossroads of the land hemisphere. Maximum efficiency of contact with much of the rest of the world. Nowhere far from the ocean. Navigable rivers.

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Sub-regions of Europe

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European Core Northern Europe Southern Europe Eastern Europe

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European Core

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UK, Ireland, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, and the microstates of Andorra, Monaco, and Liechtenstein. Generally includes the countries with the largest populations and most important economic and political roles in Europe.

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Northern Europe

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Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and Finland.

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Southern Europe

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Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, Malta, and Cyprus.

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Eastern Europe

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Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, and Slovenia.

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Europe's population

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Population of 532 million (2007). 1 out of every 13 people in the world is a European. Population density varies widely (1,038 persons per square mile in the Netherlands; only 8 persons per square mile in Iceland).

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Four countries that comprise half of Europe's population

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Germany: 82 million France: 63 million United Kingdom: 63 million Italy: 61 million

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Where are the greatest population densities found?t

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In two belts of industrialization and urbanization near historical sources of coal and hydroelectric power (North-South from the UK to Italy; East-West from UK to Poland). These belts contain large cities and produce more goods and services than the rest of Europe combined.

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Only three areas that resemble Europe's urban-industrial belts

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Eastern North America Japan China

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Why is Europe's population declining?

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Europe has transitioned from preindustrial high birth and death rates to postindustrial low birth and death rates. Population peaked in '97. "Birth Dearth" (low birth rates; fertility rate below population replacement level; no country maintaining its population through births; population aging faster than all other world regions). Strategies (Cash incentives-"baby bounties"-to parents who have multiple children; offering welfare benefits to immigrants).

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What will happen by 2030?

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If birth rates remain at their current low level, the European Union will have a shortfall of 20 million workers; the EU would need 3 million migrants per year to prevent this.

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Immigration Statistics

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1.8 million people enter EU legally each year. 500,000 more people enter the EU illegally each year.

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Physical Characteristics of Europe

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Irregular shape, high latitude, temperate climate, jagged coastal outline; estuaries (tidal mouths of rivers) and harbors offer protection for shipping.

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Why is Europe so warm?

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Warm ocean currents (Gulf Stream, North Atlantic Drift). Western Winds (winter winds absorb heat from ocean and transport to land; in summer, the ocean is cooler than land, so the winds have a cooling effect; winds also bring abundant moisture-20 to 40 inches annually).

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Realm of Peninsulas and Islands (Physiographic Regions)

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Western Uplands Northern European Lowland Central Uplands (Plateaus) Alpine Mountains

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Central Uplands

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Hills and plateaus, raw materials.

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Alpine Mountains

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Pyrenees to Balkan Mountains. Apennines, Carpathians and Pindus Mountains in Greece.

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Western Uplands

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Scandinavia through western Britain and Ireland. Heart of Iberian Peninsula.

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North European Lowland

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Southeastern Britain and central France across Germany and Denmark into Poland and Ukraine. Continues in Russia. Major rivers and connecting waterways. Major cities.

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North European Plain

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Extends from French-Spanish border far into Russia, contains the greater part of Europe's cultivated land. Underlain by deposits of coal, iron ore, and other minerals important in the region's industrial development. Home to many of the largest European cities.

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South of the North European Plain

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Region is hilly and mountainous, with notable peaks (including Mount Blanc--the French-Italian border) and the iconic Swiss Matterhorn.

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Glaciation

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Created favorable sites for hydroelectric installations. Glacial deposition left fertile deposits on most of theNorth European Plain that are productively farmed today.

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Europe's remarkable climatic and biotic diversity

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Marine West Coast Humid Continental Short-Summer (Cold) Humid Continental Long-Summer (Warm) Mediterranean Subarctic and Tundra Undifferentiated Highland

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Rivers and Waterways

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Romans used rivers for transport and today, riversstill make it possible to move cargo at low cost. The Rhine and Danube traverse many countriesand are important arteries for the flow of goods.

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Important Seaports

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London on the Thames. Antwerp on the Scheldt. Rotterdam in the delta of the Rhine. Hamburg on the Elbe.

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Ethnic Groups of Europe

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Europe emerged from prehistory as thehomeland of many different peoples. Great expansion of the Greek and Celtic peoples in thefirst millennium B.C.E. Europe's Greek and Celtic languages expanded at roughly the same time, but are represented today only by remnants.

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Major Language Families

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Romance (evolved from Latin): Italian, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. Germanic: German, English, Dutch, Danish, and Swedish. Slavic: Russian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, and Serbian.

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Europeans' Religious Roots

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Dominance of Christianity: embraced by Emperor Constantine in the 4th Century. Roman Catholic Church: largest religious group(280 million). Eastern Orthodox Church: developed in Constantinople during Middle Ages as rival to Rome. Sects Emerging from Protestant Reformation (16th Century): Church of England, Lutheran Protestantism.

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Europeans' Religion

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Has become increasingly secularized. Islam is the fastest growing religion in Europe. Only one million Jews today in Europe.

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European Colonialism and consequences

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The Silk Road was an important global trade route, connecting China and Venice. Merchant Capitalism (Venice, Pisa, Genoa; the Hanseatic League). Innovation (business organization, machinery). The Age of Discovery (ship building, navigation).

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What factors helped to make Europe the world's wealthiest region for centuries?

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Significant material and cultural riches. Achievements in shipbuilding, navigation, and the manufacture and handling of weapons gave Europe decided advantages. Foundations of modern science primarily came out of Europe. First world region to evolve from an agricultural to an industrial society. Diffused eastward from Britain onto European mainland throughout 19th century.

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1790-1859

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Localized, steam, textiles, iron.

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1850-1870

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Diffusion, steel, machine tools, railways.

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1870-1920

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Reorganization, core-periphery, electricity.

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Imperialism

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The extension of the power of a nation through direct or indirect control of the economic and political life of other territories.

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What happened to Eastern Europe after WWII?

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Colonized by the Soviet Union (served as vassal states that gave up human and material resources to service the motherland).

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Hope for Eastern Europe

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Dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Admission of eastern European countries to the EU.

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Europe's Postindustrial Economy

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Shift from energy-hungry, labor-costly, and polluting industries toward an economy based on services and production of high-tech goods. These industries do not employ as many people as the old manufacturing sector, so there are unemployment problems.

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The European Union

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Headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. Most important of Europe's supranational organizations. Began as the European Economic Community, 1957(also known as the Common Market)-France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands. Initially designed to secure the benefits of large-scale production by pooling resources & markets of its members. Tariffs eliminated on goods moving between member states. Restrictions on the movement of labor and capital between member states were eased. Monopolies that restricted competition were discouraged. Common set of external tariffs established to regulate imports. Acquired the European Union name in 1993. By 1996, nine additional members had joined the EU.

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The Euro

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A single European Union currency launched in 1999 as the centerpiece of the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). Currently used by 17 countries.

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Believed advantages of a common currency

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Lower transaction costs. More certainty for investors. Enhanced competition. More consistent pricing. Restrain public spending, reduce debt, and tame inflation.

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Europe's "Big Bang"

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Ten Eastern European nations joined the EU in 2004 (Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Malta, and Cyprus); created a mega-Europe of 450 million people and an economy valued at nearly $10 trillion.

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Embracing the less wealthy

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The most outstanding differences between the old and new EU members is in their economies, with the old EU countries having 95% of the continent's wealth. When the big bang countries joined in 2004, the EU's average wealth per person fell by 13 percent.

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Postwar Europe

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The Cold War and Its Aftermath. North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Military alliance founded in 1949 between the U.S., Canada, most European countries west of the Iron Curtain & Turkey. NATO faced off against the Warsaw Pact, an alliance of the Soviet Union and its eastern European satellites. NATO remains today with a membership of 28 countries.

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Schengen Agreement

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The EU would like to move toward a situation in which there were no passport, visa, or other control issues at any internal land, sea, and airport frontiers of its member countries. Member states exercise common visa, asylum, and other policies at their external borders. Truly open borders are probably still far in the future Anti-immigrant fears, cheap eastern labor, terrorists.

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Differences between Europeans and Americans

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Concept of Social Justice. Provision of and Spending on Public Education. Taxes on Gasoline. Views on U.S. "Cultural Industries" (e.g., Hollywood films). Allowance of questions of spirituality into political debates. Acceptance of Death Penalty (outlawed in EU countries). Differences on the Geopolitical Front.

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The European Core

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Densest, most urbanized population. Most prosperous economy. Lowest unemployment. Most productive agriculture. Most conservative politics. Greatest concentration ofhighways and railroads. Highest levels of crowding,congestion, and pollution. 1 of only 4 world regionsclassified as a major clusterof continuous settlement.

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Political Units of the United Kingdom

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England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland.

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British Empire (Global Hegemonic Power)

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From defeat of Napoleonic France in 1815 to start of WWI in 1914. British Empire once covered one quarter of the Earth. Commonwealth of Nations (voluntary association of 54 countries that nominally recognize the British monarch as its head).

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Legacy of Great Britain

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Much world culture has British roots. Importance of English language around the world. London as an example of a World City.

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Irish Economy as "Celtic Tiger"

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Traditionally low-ranking economy doubled in size in 1990s. Economy boosted by emergence of high-tech industries. The strong economic growth (about 7% annually) enjoyedbetween 1999-2007 was followed by a recession.

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Potato Famine of 1845-1851

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10 percent of population died of starvationor disease. A greater number emigrated to North America,Australia & UK.

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Conflict in Northern Ireland

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Officially part of the United Kingdom. British direct rule vs. Irish Republican Army (IRA). Catholic Republicans and Protestant Unionists.

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Paris

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Primate City; 10.4 million in metropolitan area (greater population than those of the next two largest cities combined). Important geographic situation on the Seine River. Largest city of mainland Europe. Leading urban tourist destination.

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Germany

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Europe's Dominant Country (82 million population greater than any other country; along with France, seen as political cornerstone of EU; fourth-largest economy in the world; one of the top three countries globally in exports of goods). Reunification in 1990 was one of the most important geopolitical events of the late twentieth century; inequality between western and eastern Germany.

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The European Periphery

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Properties: "Rimland" of countries whose interests are tied closely to and strongly influenced by those of the core. Have less political and economic clout than core countries. Dependent on the core countries. Subregions: Northern Europe, Southern Europe, Eastern Europe.

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Northern Europe

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Norway and Iceland's refusal to join the European Union. Fear EU fishing policies will diminish profits vital to their economies. Both countries, along with Japan, engage in whaling.

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The Basques

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Have unique ethnicity and culture unrelated to those of their host country majorities; 2.3 million Basques of Spain vs. 300,000 Basques of France. Have often been targets of discrimination and violence. In the 1960s, Basque desire for independence led to militant group ETA (Basque Homeland and Liberty); ETA seen as a terrorist organization by the EU and US; in 2011, the ETA vowed to cease violence.

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Southern Europe: North vs. South in Italy

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Northerners, in Padania,see themselves as sophisticatedand cosmopolitan; Northern Italy has labor shortages, industries are more productive and income levels are higher. Southerners, in Mezzogiorno, acknowledge agrarian roots as source of their kinship values and enjoyment of life; Southern Italy has more unemployment.

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Southern Europe: North vs. South in Cyprus

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Mediterranean island gained independence as the Republic of Cyprus in 1960, but is divided: Greek Cypriots Turkish Cypriots

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Greek Cypriots

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Greek Orthodox Christians; make up about 75% of estimated population of 1 million.

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Turkish Cypriots

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Muslims; make up about 25% of population.

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Buffer Zone ("Green Line")--Cyprus

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Sealed off the Turkish north and Greek south. Capital city of Nicosia is divided by this line. Depressed north is tied to Turkey, but the Greek sector enjoys flourishing tourism and aid from Greece, Britain, the Us and the United Nations.

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Unifying features prior to end of Cold War

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Majority Slavic ethnicity Former Communist statue Subjugation to Soviet interests

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Shatter Belt (Eastern Europe)

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A large, strategically location region composed of conflicting states caught between the conflicting interests of great powers.

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Eastern countries-Soviet Satellites

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Local communist governments effectively controlled from Moscow.

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Principal Traits of Communism

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One-party dictatorial governments. National economies planned and directly by organs of the state. Abolition of private ownership (with some exceptions) in the fields of manufacturing, mining, transportation, commerce, and services. Abolition of independent trade unions. Varying degrees of socialization (state ownership) of agriculture.

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Balkanization

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Political-geographic term for fragmentation into ethnically based, contentious units that took its name from the characteristic disharmony of the Balkan region. As the Iron Curtain dissolved, Yugoslavia began to fracture along ancient ethnic fault lines (Yugoslav state dissolved in 1991). Ethnic Cleansing: forced emigration or murder of one ethnic group by another within a certain territory.

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The Roma

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Aka "Gypsies." At 12 million, one of Europe's largest ethnic minorities; Romania has the highest number, about 2.5 million. Originally from what is now India; Romany language similar to those spoken on Indian subcontinent. An itinerant people that still often move in caravans. Poorer than the majority populations, and have higher unemployment rates. Subjected to a great deal of prejudice and discrimination.

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