Learning Objectives
•	Learn about the historical role of Europe in global colonialism and in the Industrial Revolution
•	Understand the nationalism that has thrown the region into armed conflict many times 
•	Understand the formation of the European Union, and the evolution of a common currency, the euro
•	Become familiar with the physical, demographic, cultural, political, and economic characteristics of Europe
•	Understand these concepts and models:
Introduction
•	Setting the boundaries
–	Western, northern, and southern Europe is rimmed by water
–	The eastern boundary is defined by closeness of ties to the European Union (rather than to Russia) 
•	Europe is diverse 
–	Different climates, landforms, agricultural output
–	40 different countries, with many different languages and cultures
–	Long history of warfare, mostly along national lines
–	Europe is globalizing, was a major colonial power
–	European Union, a supranational organization
–	Cradle of the Industrial Revolution

Environmental Geography:
Human Transformation of a Diverse Landscape
•	Four factors explain Europe’s diversity
–	Complex geology with newest and oldest formations
–	Latitudinal extent (from Arctic to Mediterranean Subtropics)
–	Modification of latitudinal controls by land and water interaction
–	Thousands of years of 
    humans settlement 
	caused changes 
Environmental Geography: Human Transformation of a Diverse Landscape
•	Environmental Issues, Local and Global, East and West
•	Agriculture, resource-extraction, industrial manufacturing, and urbanization have created air and water pollution and acid rain
•	Western Europe is one of the world’s greenest regions because of pro-environment policies since 1970s
•	European voters support environment in Europe and globally, including reduction of greenhouse gases
•	Eastern Europe neglected its environment under Soviet-style economics; Soviet-designed nuclear plants may be dangerous
•	Ongoing economic and political evolution make it difficult to solve Eastern Europe’s environmental problems

Landform & Landscape Regions, cont.
Europe’s Climate Map (Fig. 8.11)
Environmental Geography: Human Transformation
•	Seas, Rivers, Ports, and Coastline
–	Europe’s Ring of Seas
•	Baltic Sea, North Sea, English Channel, Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea (Black Sea has fisheries, oil, natural gas)
–	Rivers and Ports
•	Many rivers navigable, connected by canals for barges
•	Seine, Rhine, Elbe, Danube (the longest)
•	Rotterdam (Rhine), London (Thames), Gdansk (Wisla) 
–	Reclaiming the Dutch Coastline
•	Polders – protected and reclaimed 
	landscapes; dikes, windmills, pumps  
   prevent flooding

Settlement and Population: Slow Growth and Rapid Migration
-Population Density 
  in the 
  Core and Periphery

Fig. 8.15
Migration into Europe
Settlement and Population: Slow Growth and Rapid Migration (cont.)
•	The Landscapes of Urban Europe
–	Europe highly urbanized 
•	Over 50% in most countries; 90% in UK and Belgium
–	The Past in the Present (3 landscape types)
•	Medieval landscape (900-1500 A.D.) – densely settled, buildings next to streets; green space only near churches and public squares
•	Renaissance-Baroque (1500-1800) – wider streets, large gardens, monuments, open space; ornate architecture
•	Industrial (1800-present) – walls, fortifications removed; industrial areas build on edge of cities; urban sprawl developed

Cultural Coherence and Diversity: Mosaic of Differences (cont.) 
•	Geographies of Religion, Past and Present
–	The Schism Between Western and Eastern Christianity
•	Division in 1054 A.D. of Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches; Greek missionaries refused rule by Roman bishops
•	Roman Catholics - Latin alphabet; Eastern Orthodox - Cyrillic
–	Conflicts with Islam
•	East Europe: Ottoman Turks brought Islam to Balkans (almost to Vienna, Austria)
•	Western Europe: Moors (Moroccans) brought Islam to Spain
–	The Protestant Revolt
•	Began in 16th century with split in Catholic Church’s teachings

 Cultural Coherence and Diversity: A Mosaic of Differences (cont.)
•	Geographies of Religion, Past and Present, cont.
–	A Geography of Judaism
•	Jews expelled from Palestine during Roman Empire, settled in Moorish (Islamic) Spain
•	When Christians conquered this region, they expelled Jews
•	Many Jews settled in “the Pale” of eastern Europe (east Poland and further east)
•	Murder of 6 million Jews during 
    Nazi occupation in 1940s,  others 
    suffered in concentration camps
Cultural Coherence and Diversity: A Mosaic of Differences (cont.)
•	Geographies of Religion, Past and Present, cont.
–	The Patterns of Contemporary Religion
Cultural Coherence and Diversity: A Mosaic of Differences (cont.)
•	European Culture in Global Context
–	Globalization and Cultural Nationalism
•	Since World War II, Europe has been inundated with North American culture (music, TV, consumer goods)
–	UK, Italy, Hungary accept it
–	France, Germany resist, subsidize indigenous films and create “academies” to keep English out of the language (officially,      e-mail in France is “courriel”)
–	Migrants and Culture
•	Many Muslim migrants to Europe (4.5 million in France, 7.5% of population; 2.5 million Muslim Turks in Germany)
–	Ethnic clustering and ghettoization are common
–	Far right-wing nationalists (e.g., skinheads, neo-Nazis)

Geopolitical Framework: A Dynamic Map
•	Europe has 40 independent states (countries)
–	Europe invented the nation-state (a relatively homogenous cultural group (nation) with its own political territory (state); fostered by ethnic and cultural nationalism)
•	Redrawing the Map of Europe Through War
–	World War I
•	France, UK, Russia vs. Germany, Italy, Austria-Hungary
•	Outcome encouraged irredentism:  state policies designed to reclaim lost territory 
–	1930s (Depression Era): 3 ideologies emerged
•	(1)Western democracy and capitalism, (2)Soviet-style communism, (3)Fascist totalitarianism in Germany and Italy
–	World War II era (1939-45)
•	Germany occupied neighboring countries, beginning with Poland
•	Axis (Germany, Italy) vs. Allies (Britain, France, U.S.S.R., U.S.)
•	Axis surrendered in 1945, Allies divided Europe; Cold War began
Geopolitical Framework: A Dynamic Map (cont.)
•	A Divided Europe, East and West
–	Cold War Geography (1946-1991)
•	USSR (Russia) occupied countries of 
    E Europe to create a buffer zone (region 
    to protect Russia from further European invasion)
•	Western Allies occupied Western Europe; the 2 groups divided Berlin, Germany
•	The Iron Curtain was a symbolic separation between East & West
•	Berlin Wall a physical structure dividing E and W Berlin
–	Cold War 
•	NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) in W Europe (U.S.), and Warsaw Pact in E Europe (U.S.S.R.)
•	Both sides stockpiled weapons, waged propaganda war, raised fears
Geopolitical Framework: A Dynamic Map (cont.)
–	Cold War Thaw
•	Began in 1989 when Poland elected a non-communist leader 
•	Causes: political instability in U.S.S.R.; desire for economic and political change in Eastern European countries
•	Revolutions in most Warsaw Pact countries were non-violent, except in Romania
•	Outcome:  revival of national feelings
–	Czechoslovakia divided peacefully (Czech Republic and Slovakia)
–	Yugoslavia divided through 
    armed conflicts, 
   “ethnic cleansing”
–	Germany reunited
–	Soviet Union dissolved

Economic and Social Development: Integration and Transition
•	Europe’s Industrial Revolution (1730-1850)
–	Machines replaced people in manufacturing 
–	Inanimate energy sources 
    (water, steam, fossil fuels) 
    powered machines
•	Centers of Change
–	England’s textile industry 
    was the center of industrial innovation
–	Water sources (power waterwheels, clean wool)
–	Weak guilds
–	Ample raw materials (wool and cotton)
Economic and Social Development: Integration and Transition
–	Locational Factors of Early Industrial Areas
–	Steam engine improvements made water power obsolete
–	Coal a cheap fuel source, factories built near coal mines 
–	Iron and steel manufacturing became important
–	London became an important port and financial center
–	Development of Industrial Regions-Continental Europe
•	First industrial regions established about 1820 on French-Belgian border
•	Near coal fields of Sambre-Meuse Rivers
•	Remain important today

Economic and Social Development: Integration and Transition (cont.)
•	Rebuilding Postwar Europe: Economic Integration in the West
•	The Marshall Plan helped rebuild Western Europe after WWII
•	Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) – linked eastern European aid and recovery to the centralized command economies of communism
–	ECSC and EEC
•	European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and European Economic Community (EEC)
–	Ancestors of today’s European Union
–	Started as coordinated effort to drop coal and steel tariffs
–	Grew to create a common market for France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg
Economic and Social Development: Integration and Transition (cont.)
–	European Community and Union
•	In 1965 the EEC created a council, court, parliament and commission and changed its name to European Community
•	In 1991, EC became European Union (EU), more members joined
•	EU has wider mission, established by Maastricht Treaty: common foreign policies and mutual security agreements, greater economic integration and common currency 

Economic and Social Development: Integration and Transition (cont.)
Euroland: The European Monetary Union
–	January 1, 1999: Eleven of the 15 EU member nations joined the European Monetary Union and adopted the euro
»	The euro was a common currency for business and trade transactions
»	On January 1, 2002, citizens in the “Euroland” countries began using the euro in their everyday lives
»	United Kingdom is NOT a member of the EMU

 Economic and Social Development: Integration and Transition (cont.)
•	Economic Integration, Disintegration, and Transition in Eastern Europe
–	Historically, Eastern Europe has been less well developed than Western Europe
•	Has been under control of outsiders (Ottoman Turks, Hapsburgs, Germans, Soviet Russians)
–	The Soviet Plan
•	Soviet Russians (communists) redeveloped Eastern Europe after WWII as a command economy (centrally planned and controlled economy, generally associated with socialist or communist countries, in which all goods, services, agricultural and industrial products are strictly regulated)
Economic and Social Development: Integration and Transition (cont.)
–	Results of Soviet Plan
•	Poland and Yugoslavia resisted collectivization
•	Collectivization didn’t improve food production
•	Focus on heavy industry that relied on cheap fuel and raw materials from U.S.S.R.
–	Transition and Turmoil Since 1990
•	After U.S.S.R. disintegrated, Eastern European countries went through major change
•	Many E Europe countries introduced privatization – the transfer to private ownership of those firms and industries previously owned and run by state governments
•	Loss of cheap raw materials and fuel from U.S.S.R. resulted in a drop in industrial output; unemployment and inflation rose

Economic and Social Development: Integration and Transition (cont.)
–	Regional Disparities Within Eastern Europe
•	Successful transitions in Czech Republic, Slovenia, Hungary, Poland
–	Never adopted centralized communism
–	Had good transportation links to the West
–	Developed strong manufacturing centers with skilled workforce
•	Unsuccessful transitions in Macedonia, Moldova, and Albania
–	Adopted centralized communism
–	Had few links to the West (no market for goods)
–	Were dependent on Soviet Russia for raw materials
–	Had agriculture-based economies
–	Had internal political conflict
•	Other countries in the middle, with 
    both good and bad outcomes
Conclusions
•	Europe’s challenges vary
–	Western Europe is one of the wealthiest areas on earth
•	Progressive approach to environment
•	Ideas of nationalism seem to be giving way to pan-European identity and a region-wide currency
•	Europe must deal with immigrants and resulting political tension, and address political problems in other regions
–	Eastern Europe faces very different challenges
•	Political strife
•	Economic stagnation
•	Environmental degradation
•	Eastern Europe wishes to join the west
                End of Chapter 8: Europe