Human Geography of Europe

Greece• Western Civilization has been heavily influence by the ancient Greeks.

Greece was made of a collection of city-states. The most influential were the Athenians.

• The Athenians developed the first true democracy around 500 BC. All adult free males could vote and serve. Greeks were very advanced in science and the arts.

• The one time the Greeks were truly united was during the Persian Wars. The Spartan warriors stood out on the battlefield bc they were raised to be soldiers.

• The most notable battle was the battle of Thermopylae. 300 Spartans vs Persia

Downfall and the Rise of Empires• Athens and Sparta eventually fought the Peloponnesian War which

weakened both empires. Athens also suffered from a plague. Sparta won.

• Another Greek city-state, Macedonia took advantage of the situation. Alexander the Great conquered all of Greece, and then took over the rest of the Persian Empire, creating one of the biggest empires in history.

• After Alexander’s death, the empire fell apart, but Greek culture and science was spread all of the world, including the Middle East, Egypt, and parts of Asia.

The Rise of Rome• Rome was able to gather strength by gathering knowledge from the

Greeks. They quickly adapted Greece’s democracy and created a republic. Rome also adopted some iron working techniques to develop advanced military weapons and tactics.

• Rome spread extremely fast, conquering virtually all of mainland Europe. Rome also built many gigantic public works like the Coliseum, baths, and roads.

• Eventually, the republic fell. People really wanted Julius Caesar to take control of Rome. Caesar had lots of money from military campaigns he used on the people.

The Fall of Rome• Caesar was eventually assassinated. Many Caesars took his place, and

there was a lot of unstable leadership. BUT Rome managed to continue because many policies stayed in place despite changing leadership.

• Soon there were more “barbarians” in Rome than Romans. Rome grew too large and struggled to defend itself, being invaded multiple times, most notably by Alaric and Attila the Hun. The empire split itself up into a Western and Eastern half. The Eastern half was Byzantine Empire. The West fell into the Dark Ages.

• Christianity became Rome official religion, spreading throughout the empire.

Byzantine and the Renaissance• Byzantine was the true heir of Rome for 1,000 years, even trying to conquer

Rome, but failed because of disease. They did have a massive empire. • Invaders from the Middle East eventually conquered the Byzantine in 1492.• Eventually Western Europe was able to get back on its feet after the

Crusades. Many went to the Middle East, attacking mutually holy cities of Islam and Christianity. While there Europeans rediscovered a lot of lost knowledge.

• This rediscovery sparked the Renaissance, which lead into the Age of Exploration. Many all time great works of art and literature were created during this time.

Industrialization and Agriculture• Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Italian are derived from Latin which

was the official language of Rome. Germany and England were conquered later.

• The Mediterranean areas are more agricultural than many areas, although they are trying to industrialize while being very careful. Many of these countries make a lot of money off of olives, grapes, wheat, and tourism. Cars!!

• Most of these governments have been unstable, because of war and rejections of monarchy in favor of other styles of governments. It is difficult for countries to get people to move to the cities, while preserving their history. Subway!!

Dark Ages• After Rome fell, Germany and France

became the most important and dominant countries of Western Europe. Charlemagne unified all of France and Germany. Charlemagne’s father stopped the Muslim invasion of Europe.

• After the Crusades and the Renaissance started, Western Europe went through a change called the Reformation which was the first split away from Catholicism.

• Protestants and Catholics fought for hundreds of years after the Reformation.

• France, Spain, and Italy stayed Catholic, while other countries became Protestant.

Revolution• After king’s gained complete power (most thought that kings were

selected by God). People rejected this idea after the American and French Revolutions.

• After Napoleonic Wars Western, European nations rivalries grew stronger. The Industrial Revolution made these wars even more deadly. France and Germany fought constantly from the mid 1800s to the mid 1900s.

• Europeans began to compete for colonies to gain raw materials that they did not posses to fuel the Second Industrial Revolution. Nationalism/Colonialism=WWI.

Causes of WWII• When WWI ended, Germany was treated like they were 100%

responsible for it. This was the direct cause of WWII. The Germans were looking for somebody to restore their confidence. That person was Adolf Hitler. One of the reasons Hitler was so popular in Germany was that he blamed German suffering on the Jews.

• Hitler also took nationalism to a higher level by saying that the Germans were so far above everyone else that the Germans should take over the world, and destroy anyone who did not fit into this idea. This idea lead to 66% of the Jewish people in Europe being murdered-Holocaust.

WWII • The Germans began to conquer smaller countries and build their military

back up. By the time other Europeans realized what was happening, it was too late to stop the worst war the world had ever seen. 60,000,000 dead in total.

• Germany took over all of Europe except for England. England held the Germans off long enough for the US to become involved after Pearl Harbor.

• The US and the English, with the help of the French pushed the Germans back, and won the war. Hitler committed suicide. Western Europe was in tatters.

Effects• Everything changed after WWII. The French and German not gone

to war again since. France, but especially Germany industrialized rapidly because they were forced to rebuild their country after the war. When they did they industrialized.

• Eastern Germany was unable to do this because it became a satellite of the Soviet Union. From 1945-1989 there were two German countries: Western and Eastern.

• One of the most important moment of world history was when the Berlin wall fell Germany became unified. France and Germany established the European Union.

Life• Western Europe still has important agricultural areas for grapes and

dairy, but most of Western Europe is very industrialized making a lot of high tech stuff.

• Germany is known for their cars, the Swiss are known for their watches, and France is known as a fashion and love capital. All are big tourists attractions.

• Europeans take part in the public transportation a lot. Crime rates are lower. Health care is better. Medicine is socialized, which can be a good or bad thing. People have longer breaks from work. People in Europe are in general happier.

Vikings• Nordic countries-Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland. The proudest

time for Northern Europe is the Viking Age which was about conquest by sea.

• Around 800 AD the Nordic men began sailing around Europe, taking advantage of the Dark Ages, and murdered and pillaged their way to a lot of money.

• Eventually the Vikings took over France and England, the only empire that was able to do so. The Vikings relied on hit and run tactics using fast ships.

• As the rest of Europe entered the Renaissance, the Vikings weren’t as successful.

England• Till around 1500 England had been continually invaded and pillaged.• Eventually they became a world power with an incredible navy. They

were able to use this empire to create the largest empire the world has ever seen.

• One reason England was so successful was because of its representative style of government although there is still a monarchy in England.

• The Magna Carta is probably the most important document in the history of humanity. It was the first time all citizens were guaranteed basic rights.

Economics and World Affairs• Northern Europe is very

industrialized. The IR started in England.

• England has been our closest ally for the last 100 years, even though our first two war were against them. Scotland and Ireland used to be colonies. Scotland won its independence in war. Some of Ireland is still a colony. This has resulted terrorism.

• Europe has become very unified by using one type of currency, trains that travel to other countries relatively easily, and most people know English.

• These parts of Europe used to not be very diverse, but have grown.

Government• In general, European countries

government are larger than the US’s. The governments not only try to take care of health care, but are much more involved in the education system. The government pays people for time off to raise a family. The tax system is much higher than the US’s.

• Both countries have distinctive customs. The Nordic countries play snowy and winter sports like skiing. England rides horses, plays rugby and cricket.

• The English are famous for afternoon tea, and small sandwiches. Nordic countries eat lots of fish.