World Regional Geography

Spring 2005

Chapter 3: Europe

 

Hearth for contemporary ideas and culture: democracy, Christianity, colonialism, imperialism, capitalism, the Enlightenment, nationalism, fascism, socialism, communism, and genocide.  Europeans laid the foundation of the modern world (through economics, politics and culture.)

 

Europe remains the single largest trade center in the world. In the 1990s, the countries of Western Europe account for over 40 percent of world trade by value.  Europe is small but diverse and economically cohesive. The European Union, whose ultimate goal is political integration, today focuses primarily on economic cooperation and trade advantage. The EU is by volume the largest and most powerful trade cartel in the world today.

 

Diversity, Conflict and Technological Innovation

 

Early people- Greeks (1,000 BC), Romans (100 BC) and Celts (1,000 BC). Later- Germanic, Slavic and others (REVIEW Maps on page 68-69)

Roman camps included London and Paris (Major influence on European culture, law and infrastructure)

Roman Empire becomes Christian in 381 AD.  Germanic tribes- driving force behind Protestantism.

 

Rise of European Global Power

 

Economic system- capitalism linked to colonialism and imperialism.

 

Spain/Portugal- Power in the 1500’s

Dutch- maritime power (1600’s)

Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain.  Colonies produced raw materials.  Led to the Core-Periphery relationships and development of technologies that further enhanced growth of industrial revolution.

 

Modern State System: Nation-States

 

Treaty of Westphalia (1648): After 30 Years War.  End of religious war between Catholics and Protestants.   Established legal system for interaction between nations.  Led to the nation-state. Idea that each nation should govern itself as its own state.  Nations are people, not countries.  Nationalism- a significant European political idea.

 

Genocide- extermination of specific groups of people- many severe examples in Europe. 

Communism- (more popular in eastern Europe and Russia) felt that capitalists used riches to control governments resulting in poverty for the working classes.

Democratic centralism- the working class party is only true representative of the people (communist idea.)  Results in a planned economy and strong state government.

 

Science and industry brought people together- bound by the requirements of industrial and military success.

 

Natural Environment

 

Europe is marine in economic outlook, environment, climate and culture

All of Europe is within 320 miles of the coast.

 

Mid-latitude west coast climates- mild winters, warm summers and yearlong precipitation

Mediterranean climates- wet winters with hot, dry summers

Mid-latitude continental interior climates- cold (winds from northern Asia) and hot summers with thunderstorms.

 

Geology- Alps- highest mountain range.  Pyrenees- separate Spain and France. Carpathians- Slovakia and Romania (transition to plains leading into Asia.  Mountains drain water and deposit alluvium upon fertile plains for agriculture.  Northern Europe (Netherlands through Poland into Russia) form a broad lowland plain.  Figure 3.10 on page 75 shows physical features.  Note plains, rivers and coasts.

 

Coastline and Rivers- Rhine (second largest and busiest) and Elbe in Germany.  Danube from Germany into Austria.  Rotterdam is the largest port in Europe.

 

Peninsulas- Scandinavia (Norway and Sweden), Jutland (Denmark), Brittany (France), Iberia (Spain and Portugal), Italy and Greece.  British Isles were a peninsula until the Strait of Dover was cut.

 


Figure 3.10 (Page 75)

 

Natural and Human Resources

Rivers and coastline encouraged trade and exchange of ideas (consider position of Mediterranean area- Greece, Egypt, Rome, Turkey, etc.)

Industrialization- declining fish stock, air pollution (road traffic and industry) and acid deposition.  Europe has made significant progress in cleaning up its environment at the cost of higher taxes.  Much more environmentally conscious than the US.

East Central Europe- legacy of extreme environmental degradation. Thousands of times above safe levels.

Black Triangle- E. Germany, Poland/Czech Republic: intensely polluted

Mediterranean  Sea- high population density, manufacturing and tourism results in pollution.  World's highest levels of oil pollution.  Serious threat to quality of life and impact upon tourism- major industry of the area.

Waste- Trash is a major problem (much less of one than US)

 

Global Change and Local Response

 

NATO- North Atlantic Treaty Organization (1949)- defensive group that included West European states and the US, to counter power of Soviet Union..  Today includes former Soviet countries (East Germany, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, etc) and Turkey (only Moslem country.)  Russia is now included as a partner to NATO.

 

European Union (1967)- Organized and legal, political, legal, social, economic and military cooperation among members.  Supranationalism- close and tightly connected cooperation among countries.  Headquarters in Brussels.  Money is the Euro.  Treaty of Maastricht (1991) set a timetable for political and economic unity.  Member nations (15) have a population of 370 million.  Next wave (May 1, 2004) included, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia. Next are Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey.  See:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3675241.stm

 

READ THIS TO GET THE ISSUES: http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/1210/p01s03-wogn.html

 

EU’s Enlargement Web Site:

http://www.eurunion.org/legislat/agd2000/agd2000.htm (see new map)

http://europa.eu.int/comm/enlargement/index_en.html

 

Consider issues and advantages of EU membership.  What are the major challenges that face the EU? (Page 82-84)  What is the problem of enlarging the EU?

 


Box Figure 1 on Page 82.

 

Read the following article from the "Power Web" section of the text web site:

 

http://www.dushkin.com/text-data/articles/27246/body.pdf

 

Devolution- process to lessen the authority of national government to gain more local autonomy and freedom.  Occurring among nations and ethnic within countries and border areas between countries (Scots and Welsh within United Kingdom, breakup of Czechoslovakia- "velvet divorce."). 

 

Agglomeration economies- advantages of producing goods in one region- skilled labor, infrastructure, distribution facilities, financial services, etc. Clustering of businesses in a location to produce savings from shared infrastructure, labor pools, market access and better distribution services.

 

Europe plays a leading world role through its cities.  London is one of the World’s major cities (number 3) and Heathrow one of the world's major airports.

 

Highest Population Density: Urban industrial belt from Central Britain through Northern France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany

 

Western Europe

Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom ((England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.)

 

Western Europe has long been a pivotal region in world political and military affairs.

1.      The Celts moved out of the Alps around 1000 B.C. and occupied modern Spain, France, and Britain.

2.      Roman armies occupied Western Europe up to the Danubian frontier, establishing forts and cities which became major population centers, (Paris and London.)

3.      Germanic armies overran most of Western Europe, absorbing the Christianized Roman Empire. Christian Frank armies stopped the spread of Islam in A.D. 800.

4.      The Moors from North Africa invaded and colonized Andulusian Spain until driven out in 1492.

 

Western Europe- cradle of New World exploration. 

·        United Kingdom, France and Netherlands- most powerful colonial rulers.

·        Carried European culture around the world

·        Brought Christianity to their colonies

·        Western Europe- hearth for international human rights organizations

·        Industrial revolution gave Europe a strong lead in becoming a colonial power

 

Central role in technological innovations leading to the Industrial Revolution and collapse of feudalism. Great cities of Europe (Dusseldorf, Krakow, Paris, London, Birmingham, and Warsaw) rapidly developed during the Industrial Age due to close proximity of large coal fields (German Ruhr, Newcastle, Silesia).

 

Countries

 

France- Culture of strong individualism with a strong central government.  French revolution (1789) inspired other revolutions across Europe.  Strong ties to West Africa (former colonies) through economic cooperation.  The CFA franc ties the economies of western and central Africa to the French.

United Kingdom (1801) - includes England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

Ireland (1922) - Left the United Kingdom and became known as the Irish Free State.  The remaining 6 counties make up Northern Ireland.  Conflict to join N. Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.  The conflict is between the nationalists (join Ireland) and the loyalists (stay in the U.K.) and is sometimes seen as a Catholic vs Protestant issue.

Benelux- Belgium, Luxemburg and the Netherlands (Low Countries- ¼ of its land is below sea level.) Headquarters of NATO, the World Court, EU offices and some United Nations offices.

Germany (1871) – One of youngest nations.  West and East reunited in 1990 (more below.)

 

Strategic Europe and Pan Germanism

1.      World War I redrew the political map of Europe. New states created out of old empires included Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and Poland.

2.      The Pan-Germanism-focused foreign policy of Hitler led to annexations of German peoples in Poland and Czechoslovakia, in part causing Wold War II.

3.      Soviet occupation of Eastern Europe and threats of annexation of Western Europe caused the creation of two supranational military organizations.  NATO's mission was to contain communism.  NATO continues to be an influential player in Western European security and stability issues; now expanded into eastern Europe, NATO is the dominant military power in Eurasia.

 

Natural Environment

1.      Marine Europe is an ideal environment for mid-latitude agriculture and trade.

2.      The great rivers of Europe are arteries of commerce and major tourist destinations.

a.      The Rhine is Europe's most heavily used waterway. Europort is located at the mouth of the Rhine and is the world's largest and most modern port complex.

b.      The Danube is Eastern Europe's most important inland waterway (gypsies refer to this river as the dustless highway).

c.      London, Britain's cultural and political center is located on the Thames- most visited city in Europe and cultural center of the European Union.

3.      High grade ore deposits are gone. EU's chief source of natural resources today is Africa.

4.      Eastward from marine Europe, precipitation falls off, severity of winters increases. Agricultural productivity of Western Europe far exceeds that of Eastern Europe.

5.      Acid rain emanating from the industrial heartland of Western Europe continues to have a deleterious effect on the environments of northern Europe and Scandinavia.

 

Population and Culture

1.      Slow or negative population growth characterizes demographic change in Germany, UK, Ireland, and France.

2.      EU labor migration policy recognizes the aging of labor forces in core countries and demands for more and cheaper labor.

3.      In-migration of people from former European colonialized areas in Asia and Africa are creating multicultural and racially diverse societies in France and the U.K.

4.      High levels of urbanization.  Belgium is 97% urban.  Lowest are Ireland and Austria. Much higher than the US.  Largest urban centers are London and Paris.

 

Gentrification- renovation of older urban neighborhoods as new owners turn these into higher income areas.

 

Zero population growth rates.  Divorces, single woman and later marriages has created a need for more, smaller housing units.

Immigrant work force- Southern Europeans (Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece) and Turks work in Germany.  UK workers come from Caribbean, Pakistan and India.  France gets workers from Algeria, Vietnam and West Africa.  These workers, called “guest workers” are given limited rights and can be kicked out whenever there is an economic downturn.  Their children are also considered to be guests.  Source of conflict for European countries.  Eastern Europeans have also come into Europe (post-Soviet) to look for work. 

Aging population- more Europeans are reaching retirement age with a shortage of workers within their country.

Refugees- Germany received the largest number of refugees (300,000) from Eastern Europe, Turkey, Ghana, Iran, Somalia, Ethiopia, Zaire, Cambodia, Vietnam, etc.

Woman and Power- High degree of political power and economic wealth.  High levels of literacy and education- equal to men- almost 100%.  Women receive 55% of university degrees with lowest numbers in engineering.  Higher government representation than US.

 

The West European Economy

1.      France produces the bulk of the EU's agricultural output. Ninety-nine percent of Western Europe's arable land stock is now cultivated.  Trends are towards concentration, intensification, specialization with decreasing farms in European agribusiness.

2.      EU's protectionist agricultural trade policy =economic conflict with U.S. agricultural export needs.

3.      Manufacturing Employment- mainstay of European economy. Privatization, new technology and expanded export markets, maintain EU's share of the world industrial market.

4.      Admission of Eastern European countries into EU is a concern (due to effects upon labor costs and competition between West and East.  France is very politically active in agricultural issues- their farmers are a strong political force.

5.      60% of all manufacturing jobs and 75 % of research and development (in Europe)

6.      Germany is the third biggest economy in the world

7.      Europe's aerospace industry (Airbus) is second to the United States' world market share. Automobiles and aerospace are two major industries.

8.      France and Belgium are high consumers of nuclear energy. Siberian natural gas is Germany's main source of this clean burning fuel. Energy also comes from local oil and gas sources (North Sea)

9.      European success in the world trade and political cooperation serve as models for the developed nations of the word to emulate. European influence is strongest in Anglo and Francophone Africa and EU member countries.

10. Service industry- 65% of total work force.

11. Europe dominates the world in tourism

12. Economies of Germany, France and U.K. rank 3rd, 4th and 5th in world

 

Germany

1. Economy in a unified Germany (1990)

a. United Germany is the single largest economic generator in the EU

b. Wages in West Germany are the highest in Europe.

c. Labor costs in Germany are the world's highest.

d. German industry is transitioning from heavy to light high-tech manufacturing.

e. East Germany- serious drain on Germany's social welfare/infrastructure costs.

 

Alpine Europe

1.      The core states of Austria and Switzerland dominate the mountain center of Europe. World class competitors in manufacturing, trade and export of investment capital. Switzerland is currently the world's wealthiest country in terms of per capita GDP.

2.      Alpine Europe was once the center of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, whose impact on the world is still being felt in Croatia, Serbia, and Bosnia.

3.      Although much of the topography of Alpine Europe is high, the vast majority of the region's population lives below 3,000 feet.

4.      Austrian economic activities include tourism and high-value metallurgical industries.

 

Northern Europe

 

Denmark (Greenland, Iceland and the Faeroe Islands), Finland, Norway and Sweden

 

  • Northern Europe is characterized by small national populations concentrated mainly in the lower latitude cities of Oslo, Copenhagen, Goteborg, Stockholm and Helsinki.
  • Natural environment consists of boreal forest ecosystems and subarctic winters, rock and conifer forests- common throughout Northern Europe.
  • Northern Europe- diversified economic system.
  • Strong champions of human rights
  • Highest percentage of woman in elected positions
  • Some of world’s highest GDPs
  • Small population- 25 million
  • High urbanization (little farmland and cold climates,) almost 85% (Finland and Norway- lower.)
  • Major cities: Copenhagen, Stockholm and Helsinki
  • Culturally- Germanic people and descendants of Vikings
  • Sami (Lapps) – practice a traditional nomadic lifestyle- reindeer herders.
  • Religion- 90% Lutheran- induced a serious and community conscious work and social ethic

 

Fjords- flooded inlets that were cut by glacial action.

 

1. Sweden is Northern Europe's most diversified, globally competitive manufacturing and service sector. Largest and most industrialized- Volvo and Saab automobiles

2. Norway is moving away from extraction industries toward manufacturing and service as major employment sectors. Mountainous with limited farmland.  North Sea oil has made Norway the second largest exporter of oil in the world.

3. Denmark is Northern Europe's agricultural leader. Maker of Legos

4. Finland's major economic and employment generators are forests, mining, and fishing.  Once part of Sweden and Russia.  Border state between Soviet Union and Europe.  Produce the Nokia phone (most mobile phones per capita in world)

5. All countries of Northern Europe except Iceland and Greenland are rapidly moving toward high-tech industrialization and away from an economy based on natural resources.

 

Agricultural output of Northern Europe is small compared to that of Western and Eastern Europe. Declining fish stocks and over-harvesting of timber are increasing concerns.

 

Denmark- Queen Margrethe II (oldest royal lineage in the world) is related to the Viking King Gorm. Greenland, Iceland and the Faeroe Islands were once part of Denmark.

 

Mediterranean Europe

 

Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, Andorra, Monaco, Vatican City, San Marino, Malta and the British colony of Gibraltar.

 

  • Portugal, Spain, Italy and Greece have all influenced world history from ancient times to the colonization of the Americas.
  • Portugal and Spain spread Roman Catholicism throughout the world.
  • Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) – Pope divided world between Spain and Portugal.
  • Basque- live in the region between Spain and France. Seek independence.
  • As a country, Italy is new (1861.)  Used to be a conglomeration of independent areas.  South is rural, north is industrial.

 

The European littoral of the Mediterranean basin is Europe's poorest region. The region is economically dominated by Italy.

 

The three great peninsulas of Europe are all located in Mediterranean Europe:

 

1.      Iberia (Spain and Portugal), whose worldwide influence extends to Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, etc.) and Africa (Sahara, Mozambique, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea).  Portugal is Mediterranean in culture, not coastline.

2.      Italy- influence throughout the Roman ruins of North Africa, Arabia and Asia Minor.

3.      Balkans, which continues as a world trouble spot and area of superpower concern. Historically a line of Moslem-Christian conflict during the days of Ottoman Turkey and Austro-Hungarian rivalry with equal intensity today.

 

The area is heavily urbanized, with the exception of rural Portugal and Greece. Major cities and economic centers include Athens, Lisbon, Rome, Milan, Turin, Naples, Madrid, and Barcelona.

 

International relations and economic development remain as the core issues facing countries of the region.

 

1.      Italy is rapidly industrializing with its main manufacturing center in the Po Valley between the Alps and Apennines. Southern Italy is at an extreme socioeconomic disparity with the wealthier north.

2.      The Spanish economy is hard hit by declining foreign investment, reduced exports and fewer out of country jobs for migrating workers. Basque separatists remain a formidable force in northwest Spain. Spain continues to seek return of Gibraltar from the U.K.

3.      Modern Portugal- a shadow of the once great world empire and explorer of Africa and South America.

a.      Portugal is the most rural of the Mediterranean core states.

b.      It is a popular retirement area for middle-class residents of the U.K. and Germany.

c.      Tourism a growing sector of the economy.

 

Greece

1.      The natural environment is mainly hills. Greece's climate and historiography are major tourist attractions.

2.      The population has exceeded the ability of land to provide enough food to feed it for at least 2,000 years.

3.      Since antiquity, Greek migration (and influence) has spread far and wide throughout Asia Minor and the Mediterranean basin.

4.      Greek geopolitical issues and involvement with Turkey in the Aegean and Ionian seas continues.

 

Eastern Central Europe

 

Baltics (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania), Poland, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Hungary and the Baltics (Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro, Macedonia, Albania Romania and Bulgaria

 

A small enclave of former Germany, but now an integral part of the Russian Federation, Kaliningrad constitutes Eastern Europe.  See: http://geography.about.com/library/weekly/aa010300a.htm

 

§         Formerly controlled by Soviet Union

§         Former communist governments

§         Struggle to change to democratic governments and capitalist economies

§         Parts of 4 great empires- Russian, German, Austro-Hungarian  and Ottoman

§         Area of changing national boundaries

§         Small countries- created as a buffer between German and Russian empires

§         During Cold War, this area was known as Eastern Europe.  Now called East Central and Central Europe

§         Populations- static to declining

§         Moslem populations (Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Macedonia): rising

§         Most landscapes are older townscapes- few big cities

§         Conflict between Christian Austro-Hungarian and Moslem Ottoman Empires - continues.

§         Moslem Albania is the poorest state in Europe.

§         Balkan states- little history of self-government, democracy, or multiparty rule.

§         Bulgaria remains very poor and lawless.

 

Culture and Ethnic Issues

§         Region is a mixture of Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodox and Muslim religions

§         Eastern Orthodox Slavs are linked to Russian culture, Roman Catholics, Western Europe

§         Latvians are Protestant

§         Split between use of Roman and Cyrillic alphabets

§         Alphabets, language and religion indicate an "east" or "west" cultural lean among ethnic groups and cultures

§         East Central Europeans- mostly Slavs

§         Western Slavs- Poles, Czechs, Slovaks and Sorbs

§         South Slavs- Croats, Serbs, Slovene, Bulgarians and Macedonians

§         East Slavs-Russians

§         Albanians- 70% Muslim

§         Jews and Romas- non-Christians, victims of holocaust.  Area was once a thriving center of Jewish culture.  Romas have faced persecution and discrimination

 

Major ethnic tensions in East Central Europe- Combination of religious, historical, political and economic geography. 

 

Yugoslavia (Land of the South Slavs)

 

§         Example of zealous nationalism that turned into genocide (ethnic cleansing)

§         Changed international human rights laws

§         Involved, UN, NATO and Russian experts and military

§         Created in 1929 from Kingdom of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs.  After WWII, Tito takes power until 1980.

§         Milosevic- Rises to power using ethnic hatreds to retain control (2001- he is arrested and tried at the ICJ in the Hague for genocide and crimes and against humanities

§         1991- Slovenia and Croatia declare independence from Yugoslavia (Slovenia maintains independence.)  Serbian Croats establish Krajina and splinter Croatia.

§         Yugoslav army- dominated by Serbs

§         Bosnia-Herzegovina- Muslim (44%), Serb (31%) & Croat (17%) w/ urban Muslims and rural Croats/Serbs.  Now divided into 2 regions (Serb north/east and Croat/Muslim central/west)  Bloody example of ethnic cleansing

§         Macedonia- landlocked (Albania and Greece) with 23% Albanian minority which began an insurgency in 2001.  Greece and Bulgaria fear Macedonian expansion into their ethnic Macedonian areas.

§         Bosnia- funnels eastern/central Europeans prostitutes and illegal immigrants west

§         Kosovo- Milosevic used Serb army for ethnic cleansing against Kosovo Albanians (95 % of population) (UN used military force to stop this.) 

 

Slovenes and Croats- Roman Catholics

Serbs, Macedonians and Bulgarians- Eastern Orthodox

Bosnians- Muslim and Roman Catholic

 

Ethnic Cleansing- eradicating a people from a territory due to ethnic differences through assimilation, expulsion and extermination.

 

Genocide- extermination of entire ethnic group. 

Genocidal rape- extermination of an ethnic group by rape an impregnation of woman of the ethnic group under attack. Woman are rejected from their group and forced to live in the rapists society

 

1.      Serbian dominance

a.      Serbian Empire once rivaled that of Byzantium.

b.      St. Vitus Day, June 24th, (commemorates the Serbian defeat of Ottoman Turks at the Battle of Kosova Polje) is the national holiday of modern Serbia. http://www.antiwar.com/malic/m062802.html  http://www.kosovo.com/kosbitka.html

c.      Kosova is ethnically Albanian but Serbian by tradition.

2.      An area where ethnicity is often defined by religion (e.g., Catholic Croatia, Moslem Bosnia, and Eastern Orthodox Serbia).

3.      Slovenia is the most affluent of former Yugoslav provinces. Both Croatia and Slovenia have strong ties to Germany and Austria.

4.      Saudi Arabia provides health care/non-combat support to Bosnian Moslems

5.      Overall Balkan population is declining.

 

Office of the High Representative:

http://www.ohr.int/

 

PBS Web Site

 

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/karadzic/

 

Atrocities in Bosnia-Herzegovina:

 

http://www.haverford.edu/relg/sells/reports.html

 

Read- Personal View- Bosnia-Herzegovina on page 118-119

 


Figure 3-54

 

Poland

1.      One of the top ten emerging markets of the world.

2.      Urban nation with growing agricultural sector

3.      Large coal fields and comprehensive heavy industrial base.

4.      Warsaw chief economic center and the region's largest city.

5.      High rate of industrialization since WWII, based on plentiful supplies of coal.

6.      Strong economic ties to U.S.

7.      Resentful of long history of Soviet occupation.

8.      Issue: Polish occupation of the former German industrial area of Silesia.

9.      A big emerging market of high U.S. foreign policy priority.

 

The Czech and Slovakia republics

1.      Creation of victorious allies at end of World War I.

2.      Only intact area at end of World War II (no major battles)

3.      Czech economy based on high-value manufacturing and skilled labor force.

4.      Czech Republic has highest urban population (75%) 

5.      Slovakia poor province of former Czechoslovakia.

6.      Tensions with Hungary over water distribution from Danube River

7.      Separation known as the "Velvet Divorce"

 

Economic Development

 

High levels of unemployment and lower levels of health care and social services- Capitalism seen as a step back from Communism.  These countries are turning from Soviet era economic alignment to modern, Western Europe alignment.

 

Czech (manufacturing, automobiles, arms and beer) and Polish economies have most industry

Hungary and Slovenia are second tier

Albania- poor and rural- mostly agriculture