Europe is more a reflection of human culture than of the Earth's geography. Physically, it is little more than a large, irregular peninsula hanging off the enormous Eurasian landmass that stretches from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. It is less than one-fourth the size of Asia, and only slightly larger than the United States. Of all the continents, only Australia is smaller. Still, Europe's role in world history has been great. At one time or another, Europeans have controlled the vast majority of land on Earth. As a result, some traces of European culture - languages, customs, or systems of government - are visible nearly everywhere in the world.

Europe's most important geographical distinction is that no point is very far from an arm of the ocean. This has been a key to its development, for it has given Europeans easy access to the rest of the world.

Europe is also blessed with a large number of navigable rivers, scoured out of the landscape when the glaciers retreated at the end of the Ice Age. Most of Europe's major cities, as well as its factories, are on rivers, some of which are fed by the remnants of these glaciers.

There are five basic regions of Europe: (1) Eastern Europe; (2) Western Europe; (3) Southern Europe and (4) Northern Europe. These regions are based on such factors as cultural commonalties, social parallels, economic linkages, and environmental similarities.

(1) Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is a perceived grouping of countries on the European continent. Today, the term Eastern Europe is often used to designate the European countries under (former) communist regimes.

Their populations do not see themselves as Eastern Europeans, and many consider it a pejorative term. Most countries prefer to include themselves in other groups, associating themselves with Germany in Central Europe, with Scandinavia in Northern Europe or with Italy and Greece in Southern Europe.

As a term its origins are fairly recent. For many years Europe was divided on a North South axis. With the southern Mediterranean states having much in common, and the northern Atlantic Ocean and Baltic Sea bordering states also having much in common. The term first arose in the 18th and 19th century and to describe an area that was falling behind the rest of Europe economically. It was seen as a region where serfdom and autocratic governments persisted long after those notions were fading in the west. It was always a very vague notion, however, and many countries in the region did not fit the stereotypical view.

Much of Eastern Europe has ties to both the east and west. While all of the countries were heavily influenced by Roman Catholic or Protestant Christianity and have very close historical and cultural ties to Germany, Italy, France or Scandinavia (e.g. the Hanseatic league in the Baltics), many countries also had relations with the East. Russia was under the control of the Mongols for centuries and inherited political and social conventions from them. Further south the Ottoman Empire and Islam had a very strong influence. The nations of the Balkans as well as Hungary and Romania were all at one time controlled by the Turks.

The concept of Eastern Europe was greatly strengthened by the domination of the region by the Soviet Union after the Second World War and the takeover of the nations of the region by communist governments. The idea of an "Iron Curtain" separating Eastern and Western Europe was an extremely common view throughout the Cold War. This strict dualism caused problems, however, as it failed to account for the complexities of the region. For instance, Yugoslavia and Albania refused to be controlled by Moscow, but this division was often ignored by many in the west.

(2) Western Europe
Before the Cold War, "Western Europe" was used to describe France, Ireland, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxemburg.

During the Cold War, when Western Europe designated the countries that are part of the NATO treaty and under American influence, the term was often used as a counterbalance to Eastern Europe that was under Soviet influence. The borders between Western and Eastern countries were securely defended, especially on the Eastern side. These borders were also called the Iron Curtain.

Until recently, Western Europe could safely be said to comprise the countries of the European Union plus Iceland, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Norway, San Marino, and Monaco. However, many countries that are (or were) located in Eastern or Central Europe, such as Poland and the Czech Republic, are now seeking inclusion into the European Union. It is likely that the increased economic and cultural ties with Western European countries will lead to a westward migration as inclusion occurs. This will lead to yet another change of the definition of Western Europe in the future.

(3) Southern Europe
It is generally agreed that Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece, more generally the Mediterranean countries of the European continent, are part of Southern Europe. The South of France and West of Turkey are also included in most definitions of the term.
Geographically, Southern Europe would be the south half of the landmass of Europe. This definition is relative, with no clear limits. The Alps and Massif Central mountains constitute a physical barrier between Italy and France and the rest of Europe.
This area is also the origin of most of southern Europe's food traditions, (olive oil, wine and wheat culture especially). The Mediterranean area presents similar landscapes (dry hills, little plains, pine forests, olive trees) and a similar, traditional habitat. This area consists of the northeast and southern two-thirds of Portugal, Spain's southern half and eastern coast, the southeast coast of France (along with the island of Corsica), all of Italy except the Po River plain and Alps region, the coasts of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Albania, most of Greece, Cyprus and Malta.

(4) Northern Europe
The northern part of Europe consists of the following countries:
Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.
The Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
The British Isles: Great Britain, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.
Ireland

Before the 19th century,'Northern' was commonly used to mean Northern Europe in a sense that included the Nordic countries, European Russia, the Baltic countries (at that time Livonia and Courland) and Greenland.
In earlier eras, when Europe was dominated by the Mediterranean region (i.e. the Roman Empire), everything not near this sea was termed Northern Europe, including Germany, the Low Countries, and Austria. This meaning is still used today in some contexts, such as in discussions of the Northern Renaissance. In medieval times, the term (Ultima) Thule was used to mean a semi-mythical place in the extreme northern reaches of the continent.

Sources:Wikipedia,EuropeETravel

This post was last modified: 01-17-2008 02:45 AM by saradoc.