EUROPE

[Some maps may be difficult to read. To see a clear image, RIGHT CLICK on the image and select VIEW IMAGE]

http://www.harpercollege.edu/mhealy/geg101i/regions/regionstextnotes.htm

• Major Qualities
• Why Europe First?
• Cold War.
• What and where is Europe?
• Realm's Physical borders.
• Climate
• Why did Europe have such an impact on the rest of the world or what geographic factors aided Europe's development?
• Physical Landscapes and Why there
• Three Revolutions of Modernizing Europe
• Economic Geography
• European Unification
• Centrifugal Forces in Europe
• Conflicts and Devolution

BRIEF OUTLINE / 4 CLASS THEMES Chapter 1 EUROPE DEFINING THE REALM 44 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY: Landscapes and Opportunities 40 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY: The Revolutions of Modernizing Europe 48 The Agrarian Revolution 48 The Industrial Revolution 49 Political Revolutions 52 ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY: Contemporary Europe 52 Spatial Interaction 53 An Urbanized Realm 55 A Changing Population 56 CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY: Europe's Modern Transformation 59 European Unification 59 New Money 61 Momentous Expansion 62 Regional Issue 63 Centrifugal Forces 64 From Coast to Coast? 64   REGIONS OF THE REALM 66 Western Europe 68 Dominant Germany 68 France 70 Benelux 74 The Alpine States 75 The British Isles 75 The United Kingdom 77 The Republic of Ireland 79 Northern (Nordic) Europe 80 Mediterranean Europe 82 Italy 84 Iberia 85 Greece and Cyprus 89 Eastern Europe 91 The Geographic Framework 92 Countries Facing the Baltic Sea 92 The Landlocked Center 94 Countries Facing the Black Sea 96 Countries Facing the Adriatic Sea 98

MAJOR GEOGRAPHIC QUALITIES OF THE REALM

• The European realm lies on the western extremity of the Eurasian landmass, a locale of maximum efficiency for contact with the rest of the world.
• Europe's lingering and resurgent world influence results largely from advantages accrued over centuries of global political and economic domination.
• The European natural environment displays a wide range of topographic, climatic, and soil conditions and is endowed with many industrial resources.
• Europe is marked by strong internal regional differentiation (cultural as well as physical), exhibits a high degree of functional specialization (regional complementarity), and provides multiple exchange opportunities.
• European economies are well developed, dominated by manufacturing, and the level of productivity has been high; levels of development generally decline from west to east.
• Europe's nation-states emerged from durable power cores that formed the headquarters of world colonial empires. A number of those states are now plagued by internal separatist movements.
• Europe's rapidly aging population is generally well off, highly urbanized, well educated, and enjoys long life expectancies.
• A growing number of European countries are experiencing population declines; in many of these countries, the natural decrease is partially offset by immigration.
• Europe has made significant progress toward international economic integration and, to a lesser extent, political coordination.

[outline]   

DEFINING THE REALM

Question: Why do the textbook authors say that it is appropriate to begin the study of the world's realm with the study of Europe even though Europe is one of the territorially smaller realms? [top] See p. 44

Question: What was the COLD WAR?   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_War

[outline] 

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

• 600 million people in 39 countries
  
• Realm borders: [worldrealm]
  • North, South, and West: water
  • Where is the eastern border?
    • European Continent: Ural mountains in Russia
    • European Realm: At the Russian border
      • Why?

     

    Question: Where is the eastern border of the European realm? What is the physical geography of this boundary (mountains, deserts, seas, etc.)? Is this boundary a physical barrier to transportation and migration? Why was the eastern border of the realm placed where it was? (i.e. what is different to the west {Europe} and to the east {Russia} of the border?

 [outline] 

Question: Differentiate between the following (i.e. WHERE are they?): the "Eurasian continent" the "European realm" "European Russia"?

[outline] 

Climate

• Even though Europe is significantly further north than the United States, it has a moderate climate caused by the warm waters of the North Atlantic Drift ocean current

 [outline] 

Why did Europe have such an impact on the rest of the world or what geographic factors aided Europe's development? [Textbook "Outstanding locational advantages"]

Question: Why did small Europe have such an impact on the rest of the world or what geographic factors aided Europe's development?   Relative location at the heart of the land hemisphere Every part of Europe is close to the sea Navigable Waterways Moderate distances Large and varied store of natural resources

• Europe's Relative Location at the heart of the land hemisphere creates maximum efficiency for contact with the rest of the world

  

  

 

• Every part of Europe is close to the sea which facilitates contact with the rest of the world

  

  • "a realm of peninsulas and islands"
  • "a peninsula of peninsulas"

   

• Navigable Waterways facilitate contact with the rest of the world

  

• Moderate distances due to its small size facilitate contact with the rest of the world

  

  [map projection showing true relative size of land masses]

  • p. 46 "short distances and alrge cultural differences make for intense interaction, the constant circulation of goods and ideas."

   

• large and varied store of natural resources

[outline] 

Physical Landscapes

• Alpine System Western Uplands Central Uplands North European Lowland

Why there?

Movements of plates that carry the European & African continents & the Mediterranean seabed squeeze & stretch Earth's crust in the Mediterranean region, causing earthquakes & volcanoes.

Through the centuries, Pangaea broke up into continents that began to drift slowly toward their present location. As they drifted, Africa turned counterclockwise, and Eurasia turned clockwise. Their movement opened a waterway at the western end of the sea, linking it with the ocean.

By about 65 million years ago, the rotation of these two continents had almost closed the eastern end of the Tethys Sea. The sea thus acquired its present shape.

The pressure in the collision zone has thrust the continental margins upwards, creating the Alpine mountain range. As the uplift continues, the Mediterranean Sea is becoming shallower and will eventually disappear altogether (theory).

Careful analysis of rocks at the highest levels of the Alps shows the presence of marine sediments.

 

HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY

• Ancient Greece
• Roman Empire

[outline]     

The Three Revolutions of Modernizing Europe

• Agrarian (agriculture)
• Industrial
• Political

 

Question: What are the "Three Revolutions of Modernizing Europe"? Discuss.

• Agrarian Revolution
  • Began in Europe in 1750s
  • Based on new agricultural innovations
  • Enabled increased food production
  • Enabled sustained population increase

     

  • Von Thunen's Isolated State
    READ: http://geography.about.com/od/urbaneconomicgeography/a/vonthunen.htm
    • 
  • A classic model in geography
    • models are used in geography to simplify the real world
    • the von Thunen model helps explain WHERE agricultural products are produced and WHY THERE.
    • fashioned in 1826 to explain the land use patterns developing in Europe as a result of the agrarian revolution
  • Assumptions of von Thunen's "isolated state"
    • single, self sufficient market center with no outside influence
    • soil quality and climate are consistent throughout the isolated state
    • flat and uninterrupted land without impediments to cultivation or transportation
    • farmers transport their own crops to the market center taking the straight, direct, route
    • therefore transport costs are directly proportional to distance (it costs more to transport longer distances)
    • farmers want to maximize their profits by minimizing transportation costs
  • Given these assumptions von Thunen predicted that there would be 4 concentric land use rings surrounding a market place where different crops are planted depended on different transportation costs for different crops
    • Ring 1: intensive farming and dairying ; vegetables, fruit, milk and other dairy products are perishable so they must get to market quickly,
    • Ring 2: forests; wood for building and fuel is very heavy and difficult to transport so it is located as close to the city as possible.
    • Ring 3: field crops; grains and potatoes can easily be stored and are lighter and easier to transport
    • Ring 4: livestock ranching; very easy (inexpensive) to transport to the market center because they can walk there themselves
  • The isolated state became the foundation for modern location theory.
  • APPLICATIONS:

Industrial Revolution

• Developed in the United Kingdom between 1750-1850
• Evolved from technical innovations which occurred in British industry
• Produced a distinct spatial pattern in Europe
  • A major catalyst towards increased urbanization
  • An east -west belt of manufacturing extended from northern France into Poland with heavy manufacturing centered on the Ruhr in W. Germany.

• Weber's Industrial Location Theory
  • Alfred Weber Published his work in 1909.
  • A model to explain the location of industries (WHERE and WHY THERE)
  • Goal to minimize costs - especially transportation costs
    • Should you locate your factory near the source of your resources and tranport the finished product to the market? or
    • Should you locate your factory near the market and tranport your resources to the factory?
  • The advantages of agglomeration explain why manufacturing activities tend to cluster together at specific points
  • Deglomerative forces influence the creation of new manufacturing areas

   

  

  Transportation Costs: Ubiquitous Raw Material

Political Revolution

• Long term evolution of political systems
• Headed towards democracy
• Key steps: in the formation of Europe's nation-states
  • Peace (treaty) of Westphalia, 1648
    • THIRTY YEAR’S WAR (1618-1648). The conflict began as a civil war between Protestants and Roman Catholics in the Holy Roman Empire & other territories under the administration of the Habsburgs, the royal family of Austria.
    • THE PEACE OF WESTPHALIA (1648). In 1644, The Catholic & Protestant delegates met separately in two different cities of Westphalia (now western Germany). The negotiations dragged on for four years, until the Peace of Westphalia was signed.

    

     

    • Holy Roman Empire was a German-based empire in western and central Europe that began in A.D. 962 and lasted until 1806
    • RESULT:
      • ended decades of war
      • recognized territories, boundaries, and the sovereigntyof countries
      • treaty's stabilizing effects lasted until 1806

     

  • revolutions throughout Europe including the French Revolution, 1789-1795
  • nationalism

   

• The WHERE and WHY THERE of Europe's political geography: Why are there so many countries?
  • partly because of historical geography: the legacy of the times of feudal landholdings and royal rulers
  • the creation of the nation-state
    • Online lecture: http://www.harpercollege.edu/mhealy/g101ilec/intro/clt/cltdiv/cltdivfr.htm
    • "state" means "country" (like France, NOT like Illinois)
    • "nation" is a cultural group usually with a single language, common history and single ethnic background
    • "nation-state" is a country composed primarily of people of one cultural group
    • nation-states are not multicultural societies
    • Europe use to have many nation-states, but many have become multicultural societies
    • Europe's nation-states today:
      • Poland
        • Ethnic groups: Polish 96.7%, German 0.4%, Belarusian 0.1%, Ukrainian 0.1%, other and unspecified 2.7% (2002 census)
        • Religions: Roman Catholic 89.8% (about 75% practicing), Eastern Orthodox 1.3%, Protestant 0.3%, other 0.3%, unspecified 8.3% (2002)
        • Languages: Polish 97.8%, other and unspecified 2.2% (2002 census)
      • Hungary
        • Ethnic groups: Hungarian 92.3%, Roma 1.9%, other or unknown 5.8% (2001 census)
        • Religions: Roman Catholic 51.9%, Calvinist 15.9%, Lutheran 3%, Greek Catholic 2.6%, other Christian 1%, other or unspecified 11.1%, unaffiliated 14.5% (2001 census)
        • Languages: Hungarian 93.6%, other or unspecified 6.4% (2001 census)
      • Sweden
    • States that once were nation-states have become multicultural states
      • Great Britain
      • France
      • Spain
      • Italy

       

  • Mercantilism and colonialism
    • MERCANTILISM: Protectionist policy of European States during the 16th - 18th centuries that promoted a state’s economic position in the contest with rival powers. Acquiring gold and silver and maintaining a favorable trade balance (more exports than imports) were central to their policy.
    • COLONIALISM: Rule by an autonomous power over a subordinate and alien people and place.
    • IMPERIALISM: The drive toward the creation & expansion of a colonial empire

       

[outline]     

ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY:

• Areal Functional Specialization: Particular peoples and particular places concentrating on the production of particular goods

• Spatial Interaction
  • Movement across geographic space
  • Involves contact of people in two or more places for the purposes of exchanging goods or ideas
  • three principles of spatial interaction:
    • Regional Complementarity
    • Transferability
    • Intervening Opportunity

       

    • Regional Complementarity
      • Two places, through an exchange of goods, can specifically satisfy each other's demands.
      • One area has a surplus of an item demanded by a second area.
      • Example: warm Italy sells fruit to Western Europe; Western Europe sells coal to Italy
      • Example: North and South Korea

       

    • Transferability
      • The ease with which a commodity may be transported or the capacity to move a good at a bearable cost
      • Enhanced by rivers, mountain passes, road networks and advances in transportation technology
      • In Europe, the distances are short distances and there is an efficient transportaion system
      • Even the Alps are not a significant barier with their many passes, tunnels and railroad lines.

       

    • Intervening Opportunity
      • The presence of a nearer source of supply or opportunity that acts to diminish the attractiveness of more distant sources and sites
      • Reduces interaction between more distant places, because interaction with the close place is cheaper
      • For example: Why don't I ski more in Utah or California? Colorado is an intervening opportunity that reduces contaact between Illinois and further states like Utah and Califonia

• Europe is an Urbanized Realm
  • 73% Urbanization; more in the west, less in the east
  • Related concepts
    • City
    • Primate City
    • Metropolis
    • CBD

     

  • Cities
    • The term is a political designation.
    • Refers to a municipal entity that is governed by some kind of administrative organization
    • The largest cities (especially capitals) are:
      • the focus of the state
      • complete microcosms of their national cultures

     

  • Primate City
    • A Country's largest city
    • Jefferson's Criteria:
      • always disproportionately larger than the second largest urban center - more than twice the size
      • Expressive of the national culture
      • Usually (but not always) the capital
    • Examples: Paris, London, Athens

   

  • Metropolitan Complexes
    • the central city
    • and it's suburban ring

• Europe's Changing Population
  • Falling share of the world's population
  • population of some countries are declining, more would be declining if it wasn't for immigration
  • Fertility rates (# of children per woman):
    • must be 2.1 to maintain population
    • Europe: 1.3
  • Effects of low fertility rates:
    • Fewer young people
    • Smaller working age population to support the elderly resulting in higher taxes
    • Boom And Bust Age-Dependent
  • Immigration partially offsetting losses
    • making societies more diverse
    • many immigrate groups do not assimilate well
    • new religions: Islam
    • many immigrants are very poor
  • Some countries are witnessing historically unprecedented demographic phenomenon: Simultaneous population aging and population decline. More than 20 countries are projected to experience population declines in the upcoming decades

  

Question: How does the European realm rank compared to other realms on the common measures of economic development?

[outline]     

CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY

• European Unification
  • Supranationalism
    • A venture Involving Three Or More States (countries)
    • Political, Economic, And/Or Cultural Cooperation To Promote Shared Objectives

     

  • European Supranationalism
    • Why would anyone want to give away international autonomy, one of the most sought after goals in this century?
      
    • Following the two devastating World Wars of the first half of the 20th century, a number of European leaders in the late 1940s became convinced that the only way to establish a lasting peace was to unite the two chief belligerent nations - France and Germany - both economically and politically
      
    • History Of European Supranationalism

      The evolution of the European Union (EU) from a regional economic agreement among six neighboring states in 1951 to today's supranational organization of 27 countries across the European continent stands as an unprecedented phenomenon in history.

      For such a large number of nation-states to cede some of their sovereignty to an overarching entity is truly unique.

      Imagine a union between the US and Mexico.

       

      • 1944 - Benelux Agreement
      • 1947 - Marshall Plan
      • 1948 - Organization For European Economic Cooperation (OEEC)
        • Primary function of the OEEC: to accept and distribute funds allocated under the Marshall Plan
      • 1949 - Council Of Europe
      • 1951 - ECSC
      • 1957 - Treaty Of Rome
      • 1958 - EEC Effective forming the European common Market
      • 1959 - EFTA Signed
      • 1965 - EEC-ESC-Euratom merger
      • 1991 Maastricht Treaty forming the EU
      • 1999 European Monetary Union (EMU)
      • 2005 expansion of EU from 15 to 25 countries

       

    • Marshal Plan

      The Marshall Plan encouraged European nations to work together for economic recovery after World War II

      In June 1947, the United States agreed to administer aid to Europe. The official name of the plan was the European Recovery Program. Secretary of State George C. Marshall first suggested it.

      The Marshall Plan began in April 1948, when Congress established the Economic Cooperation Administration (ECA) to administer foreign aid.

      The United States sent about $13 billion in food, machinery, and other products to Europe. Aid ended in 1952.

     

    • Primary function of the OEEC was to accept and distribute funds allocated under the Marshall Plan
    • 1952 –THE EUROPEAN COAL & STEEL COMMUNITY (ECSC) was formed between Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands to share their coal and steel supplies;
    • 1957 – THE TRIEATIES OF ROME were signed between these SIX COUNTRIES to include other parts of their economies. The European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM) and the European Economic Community, (EEC), were formed.

       

       

    • European Union (EU) originally the EEC.
      • Original Members: (12) Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, UK
      • Aimed to coordinate policy among the members in three fields:
        • Economics
        • Defense
        • Justice and home affairs
      • 1973 - the UK, Ireland and Denmark joined the Common Market;
      • 1981 - Greece joined;
      • 1986 - Portugal and Spain joined;
      • 1993, November 1 - the Maastricht Treaty was signed and the club became known as the European Union (EU);
      • 1995 - Austria, Finland and Sweden joined;
      • 2004 Expanded to 25 members in 2004 - Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania,Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia joined;
      • 2007 - Bulgaria and Romania joined.

        European Union Members Today:

         

   

  •  

  Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, & the UK

• BLUE member states
  GREEN membership is declared goal
  YELLOW membership under discussion

  • Supranationalism - Problems
    • Loss of autonomy
    • Disparities in levels of economic development
    • Technical barriers
    • Cultural barriers

   

  • New Money
    • European Monetary Union (EMU)
    • to establish a common currency in Europe
    • in 2002 twelve countries withdrew their own currencies and began using only the Euro

   

  • Momentous Expansion
    • 2004
    • Ten more countries added to the EU
      • 3 Baltic states: Estonia Latvia, Lithuania
      • 5 states in Eastern Europe: Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia
      • 2 Mediterranean island-states: Malta, Cyprus
    • Future:
      • negotiations occurring with Romania and Bulgaria (2007?)
      • Croatia?
      • Turkey - would be the first non-Christian (Muslim) member and the first member outside of Europe
      • United States of Europe?

Centrifugal Forces in Europe

Paradox: "Even as Europe's states have been working to join forces in the EU, many of those same states are confronting centrifugal forces"(p. 64)

• Political Devolution occurring in many countries
  • definition:
  • Figure 1-12
  • Examples:
    • United Kingdom: Scotland and Wales
    • Spain: Basques, Catalonia, and Galicia
    • France
    • Belgium
    • Italy

Political Devolutionary Pressures in Europe

Lnguages of Europe

Religions in Europe

Islam in Europe

• Regional States forming
  • definition
  • "Four Motors of Europe"
    • Rhone-Alps regionain France
    • Lombardy in Italy
    • Catalonia in Spain
    • Baden-Wurttemberg in Germany
  • "Euroregions"

• From Coast to Coast?
  • The European Realm has expanded eastward
  • Will this continue into Russia?
  • Ukrainian elections

REGIONS OF THE REALM

• European Regions

  Western Europe The British Isles Nordic Europe Mediterranean Europe Eastern Europe

• even though Europe is a very diverse realm, regions can be constructed based on
  • proximity
  • physical geography: "environmental similarities"
  • historical geography: "historical association"
  • cultural geography: "cultural congruities"
  • economic geography: "economic linkages"

   

• Future regionalization: two regions?
  • core
  • periphery
  • Figure 1-13

   

• Western Europe:
  • "Dominant" Germany
    • Europe's most populous country and largest economy
    • strong supporter of the EU
    • WWI and WWII
    • The Federal Republic: East vs. West differences

    Question: What were "East Germany" and "West Germany"?

    Question: What was the "Marshall Plan"?

    Question: Which country has Europe's largest population and most powerful economy?

  • France
    • France vs. Germany
      • France is larger
      • France has no good natural harbors or rivers navigable to ocean-going ships
      • France is an older state
      • France has a primate city
      • France is less urbanized
    • Paris - Where and Why there?
      • few natural resources

       

      • site:
        • definition
        • Paris was originally a very defensible island city
      • situation
        • definition
        • Paris' situation stimulated economic growth
        • fertile agricultural hinterland
        • but no access to the ocean

       

  • Benelux Countries
    • Belgium
    • Netherlands
    • Luxembourg

     

    • regional complementarity between agricultural Netherlands and industrial Belgium
    • From which country tdo the "Dutch" come?
    • Belgium: 58% Flemish, 31% Walloon; devolution threatens

     

  • The Alpine States
    • Switzerland
      • three major languages
      • no primate city landlocked
      • few natural resources
      • but leading state in the alpine subregion
    • Austria
      • German language
      • primate city: Vienna
      • substantial natural resources
    • Liechtenstein: microstate

   

• British Isles
  • Site and Situation
  • UK & Northern Ireland
  • Ireland
  • Two large islands: Britain and Ireland
  • Two countries / nation-states: United Kingdom and Ireland
  • The United Kingdom includes
    • Northern Ireland: WHY?
    • England
    • Scotland
    • Wales

     

  • Why a distinct region?
    • "Britains insularity provided centuries of security from turbulaenat Europe" p. 76
    • formed and early parliamentry government
    • amassed the world's largest colonial empire
    • early industrial development

     

  • Northen Ireland conflict
    • the British were in Ireland since 1169
    • "Plantation of Ulster": Protestant Scots settle in northern Ireland
    • 1690 Protestant Britain controlled all of Catholic Ireland from the early seventeenth century until 1921
    • 1921 independence granted to Ireland including all of the island of Ireland EXCEPT Northen Ireland
    • At the time of Irish independance the majority of Northern Ireland was Protestant and wanted to stay a part of the United Kingdom
    • The Irish Republican Army (IRA forms in Northern Ireland to fight to unite Northen Ireland with the Republic of Ireland.
    • NOTE:
      • "Loyalists", "Orange" ,or "Ulster" refer to the decendants of the Protestant settlers in Northern Ireland who want to remain part of the United Kingdom
      • "Nationalist" or "IRA" usually refer to the Irish Catholics of Northern Ireland
    • READ:
      • http://www.didyouknow.cd/story/northernireland.htm
      • http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A954731

  Question: Where, why, and what is/was the Northern Ireland conflict? who was/is fighting whom? where? why there?

   

  • Republic of Ireland
    • currently a booming, growing, service-based economy; taround the year 2000 it was the fastest growing economy in all of Europe; "Celtic Tiger"
    • History:
      • Potato Famine 1840
      • Independence 1921
      • Joined EU 1973
      • joined the EMU making the Euro its currency

   

• Northern Europe
  • Six countries: Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia, Denmark, Iceland
  • cold, poor soils, limited natural resources
  • peripheral
  • Scandinavia: Norway, Sweden, Finland
  • Regional Criteria:
    • three-mutually intelliglble - major languages: Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian
    • overwhelming adherence to the Lutheran Church: Scandinavia, Iceland, Finland
    • early democracy

   

  • entrepot / break-of-bulk point: Copenhagen, Denmark
  • Estonia included in Northern Europe because of ethnic and linguistic ties to Finland

• Mediterranean Europe
  • Six countries
    • Italy, spain, Poetugal, Greece, Cyprus, Malta
  • A discontinuous region of peninsulas and islands
  • On The Periphery
  • Cultural continuity dates from Greco-Roman times
  • Mediterranean climate
    • Hot - Dry Summers
    • Warm/Cool - Moist Winters

• Italy
  • Most populated of Mediterranean countries
  • Best connected to the European core
  • Most economically advanced
  • Displays a sharp north/south contrast (Ancona Line)
  • Milan
    • " Italy's Largest City And Leading Manufacturing Center
    • " Also The Country's Financial And Service-Industry Center
  • Rome
    • Founded about 3,000 Years Ago
    • Attained an estimated population of 1 million before the end of the 1st century AD
    • Only 30,000 people by the 13th century
    • Became Italy's capital in 1870
    • Now has about 2.6 Million
  • Vatican City
    • An enclave within Rome
    • The headquarters of Roman Catholicism
    • Functions as an independent entity

     

• Iberia
  • Iberian Peninsula
  • Spain and Portugal
  • Devolutionary pressures:
    • Basque region: own language and culture
    • Catalonia in northwestern Spain: own language and culture
    • Gibralter: British territory at the southern tip of Spain
    • Exclaves of Spain in Morrocco in northern Africa: Ceuta and Melilla

• Greece and Cyprus
  • Greece: recent economic success story
  • Cyprus: Greek majority, Turkish minority; civil war in 1974, Turkey invaded and controls about 40% (irredentism example)
  • Greek-side joined the EU in 2004

 

• Eastern Europe
  • Europe's largest region
  • Adjoins 3 of 4 other European regions
  • Contains The most countries
  • Includes Europe's largest state: Ukraine
  • Incorporates Europe's poorest country
  • In 1990, none of its states could meet the criteria for membership in the EU
  • Reaches into the Russian zone of influence
  • a shatter belt zone

   

  • Subregions Of Eastern Europe
    • Countries facing the Baltic Sea
    • The Landlocked Center
    • Countries facing the Adriatic Sea
    • Countries facing the Black Sea

       

    • Countries Facing The Baltic Sea
      • Poland: A Classic Nation-State; Traditionally Agrarian-Wheat; Post W.W.II Industry-Silesia; Warsaw - Primate City
      • Lithuania: Lost Independence In 1940, Regained In 1991; Kaliningrad - A Russian Exclave
      • Latvia: Similar History As Lithuania; Constitute Bare Majority In Own Country
      • Belarus: Russia's Closest Ally

       

    • The Landlocked Center
      • Czech Republic: The Region's Most Westernized; Prague - A Classic Primate City
      • Slovakia: The Least Developed, Most Rural Part Of "Czechoslovakia"
      • Hungary: A Nation-State Of 10 Million; Budapest - A Classic Primate City

• Countries Facing The Black Sea
  • Bulgaria: Liberated By Russia In 1878
  • Romania: A Former Roman Province; Raw Materials (Coal, Iron Ore, Oil, Natural Gas)
  • Moldova: Agricultural
  • Ukraine: Largest And Most Populous; Agricultural And Natural Resources Available

• Countries Facing The Adriatic Sea
  • Slovenia: First To Secede; Ethnically Most Homogeneous
  • Croatia
  • Bosnia: Centrally Positioned
  • Serbia: Largest And Most Populous
  • Macedonia: 65% Macedonian, 21% Albanian
  • Serbia-Montenegro
  • Albania: Remnant of Turkish Ottoman Empire; 70% Muslims; Lowest economic ranking in Europe

 [outline]

CONFLICTS

The geographic vocabulary of cultural conflicts: Key Concepts Balkanization Irredentism Ethnic Cleansing Devolution Shatter Belt   Review: Online lecture: Cultural Diversity Online lecture: Cultural Conflicts   Balkanization From the verb balkanize, which means to break up (as in a region) into smaller and often hostile units Originates From A Mountain Range In Bulgaria Applied To The Southern Half Of Eastern Europe, I.E., The Balkan Countries Of The Balkan Peninsula Underlying Forces Centrifugal Forces Refer To Forces That Tend To Divide A Country Religious, Linguistic, Ethnic, Or Ideological Differences Centripetal Forces Forces That Unite And Bind A Country Together A Strong National Culture, Shared Ideological Objectives, A Common Faith   Irredentism A policy of cultural extension & potential political expansion aimed at a national group living in a neighboring country Ethnic Groups in Eastern Europe See map above and note areas of potential irredentism: Hungarian sprakers (Ugaric - red) in Hungary and in neighboring Serbia (Vojvodina), Slovakia, Austria, and Romania Kosovo in southern Serbia has a Muslim Albanian population   Ethnic Cleansing Refers to the forcible ouster of entire populations from their homelands by stronger powers bent on taking their territories   Devolution The process whereby regions within a state demands and gains political strength and growing autonomy at the expense of the central government Devolution In Europe   Shatter Belt A term applied to Eastern Europe by geographers to describe an area of chronic political splintering and fracturing Why here?   Question: Define the terms "state", "nation", "nation-state" and multicultural state using examples from the European realm

Question: For each of the conflicts listed below (1) LOCATE it on the map, (2) discuss WHO IS/WAS FIGHTING WHOM, and (3) a little about the CAUSE of the conflict. (You may have to look in the "Regions of the Realm" section for this information. Northern Ireland Basque Cyprus Bosnia Kosovo   BBC Timelines: Basque Cyprus Bosnia Kosovo   Macedonia Croatia

Northern Ireland

Northen Ireland conflict the British were in Ireland since 1169 "Plantation of Ulster": Protestant Scots settle in northern Ireland 1690 Protestant Britain controlled all of Catholic Ireland from the early seventeenth century until 1921 1921 independence granted to Ireland including all of the island of Ireland EXCEPT Northen Ireland At the time of Irish independance the majority of Northern Ireland was Protestant and wanted to stay a part of the United Kingdom The Irish Republican Army (IRA forms in Northern Ireland to fight to unite Northen Ireland with the Republic of Ireland. NOTE: "Loyalists", "Orange" ,or "Ulster" refer to the decendants of the Protestant settlers in Northern Ireland who want to remain part of the United Kingdom "Nationalist" or "IRA" usually refer to the Irish Catholics of Northern Ireland READ: http://www.didyouknow.cd/story/northernireland.htm http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A954731 Question: Where, why, and what is/was the Northern Ireland conflict? who was/is fighting whom? where? why there?   Republic of Ireland currently a booming, growing, service-based economy; taround the year 2000 it was the fastest growing economy in all of Europe; "Celtic Tiger" History: Potato Famine 1840 Independence 1921 Joined EU 1973 joined the EMU making the Euro its currency

Kosovo

• Kosovo
  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/country_profiles/3550401.stm

Bosnia

• Bosnia
  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/country_profiles/1066981.stm
• See maps above

Basques

• Basque
  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/545452.stm

Cyprus

• Cyprus
  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/1021835.stm
• See map above