● Unity and Division

○ Centripetal forces : forces uniting. (Ex: Common goals unite the EU, this
is a centripetal force.)
○ Supranationalism: an organization that multiple countries are members of.
where a political and social system supports economic goals. (NAFTA,
NATO, Mercosur, European Union)
○ Centrifugal force: forces separating. (Ex: conflicts within member
countries separate the EU.) & devolutionary forces : power moving to
regions, not to the central government. (Ex: Basque of Spain)
○ Assets and liabilities for unification: Assets: decreasing trade barriers,
common currency, common policies, diverse environments, resources and
crops, Liabilities: different languages, cultural disputes
○ History of an Idea:
■ important periods of unification
● Roman Empire: a model for creating an over-arching
political structure for Europe.
● Charlemagne: created an empire stretching from Pyrenees
to the Danube, and Hamburg to Sicily. Renewed the
Roman Empire. It fell apart after his death. No wars.
Created a stable society that was cultural, artistic, and
intellectual.
● Napoleon: created the Legion of Honour, after Romans and
Charlemagne. Was a monarchial alliance, this defeated
him. True promoter of European cooperation and
peace.”father” of Europe because he wanted a great
European family. Wanted a common land.
■ Unification concepts connected to Napoleon: federal law, common
market, dismantling of frontiers, promotion of the idea of rights of
man and the rule of the law
● Economic
○ Capitalism/market economy : found in Western Europe, an economic
system whereby goods and services are exchanged on a for-profit basis.
An economy in which goods and services are exchanged in a free market.
○ Communism/command economy: found in Eastern Europe, influenced by
Russians. a form of socialism that abolishes private ownership. Economic
system in which the government owns the land, resources, and means of
production and makes all economic decisions.
○ Economic activities
■ Primary: Main agriculture regions = moderate climate, fertile soil,
few physical barriers (North European Plan, Central France,
Steppe Grasslands in Ukraine)
 ■ Secondary: largest manufacturing in France, England, Germany-
west. (Flat terrain, mild climate, access to river/oceans, many
mineral resources)
■ Tertiary: Western = extensive trade network within region and
world. Navigable rivers and easy ocean access.
■ Quaternary: Western = high technology, finance, specialized
businesses, because of high standards of living and highly educated
workers. (Ex: Switzerland has high standard of living)
■ Impact of resources on activities: Resources affect each other in
primary, secondary, and tertiary activities. Quaternary is least
dependent on resources, but is more dependent on development
and standards of living.
○ Industrial Revolution
■ Define & Describe: In England 1700s-1800s, period of time where
manual labor was replaced by machines, cities saw a lot of growth
and overcrowding, pollution. Innovations were helpful and came
during this time. Factories were cramped and harsh. Cities near
iron and coal deposits, rivers, and water.
■ Resources Required: iron to make machines, coal to power them.
Midlands in the UK had both of these resources.
■ Impacts of industrialization: developed middle class, redistributed
wealth, technologic advances, diversified economies.

○ European Union : a supranational organization with 27 countries

■ 1952: Formed the European Steel and Coal Community, a

multinational group of coal + steel control. Inner six, first step to
EU.
■ 1957: Rome Treaties. the European Economic Community and
European Community
■ 1993: Maastrict Treaty, EU founded
■ 1995: Schengen Agreement established open borders
■ 2007: Treaty of Lisbon created constitutional basis

■ Devolutionary force in regions such as Catalonia and the Po River

Valley. These regions have become self-standing economic
powerhouses with huge concentrations of growth industries and
multinational firms, and become driving forces with the European
economy. This creates conflict with the central government. They
push for autonomy, creating conflict.
■ Functions as a trade network : It decreased trade barriers, had a
common currency as the Euro, common economic policy and
goals.
■ Infrastructure : made investments in transportation and
telecommunications to encourage economic development and
economic activities
 ■ Relocation of businesses to Eastern Europe : labor was cheaper
there and would increase profit margins
○ Impact of fall of communism: Eastern Europe’s inflation increased,
unemployment rate increased due to weaker infrastructure, switched to
capitalism in a market economy.
● Social
○ Population
■ Characteristics of population: decreasing, urban, high density, high
literacy rate, high quality access to healthcare
■ European unification
● Impacts on population: people are united, can travel w/o
barrier. Some conflict between ethnic differences between
countries
■ Growth patterns & processes : population is decreasing because of
later marriage, lots of $ to raise kid, high unemployment, financial
uncertainties. negative growth. Population pyramid would be top
heavy. Low birthrate.
■ Patterns of settlement
● Population density patterns = high. Most near the North
European Plain and bodies of water.
● Pull to city = factory jobs, Agriculture mechanized, didn’t
need rural population, so largest cities grew along the
water. the Industrial Revolution urbanized Europe.
■ Migrations
● Movement from Eastern Europe to Western Europe: poor
moved to the richer countries. Brought labor problems.
wanted to restrict movement. They did this because there
were low unemployment rates and higher standards of
living in the West.
● Guest workers impacted the homogeneity of Western
Europe, bringing more diversity yet also more conflict.
Turks from SW Asia moved to Germany. Rapid economic
growth made need for workers, current declining birthrates
create a shrinking workforce. results in tensions in western
Europe between local population and new immigrants due
to different cultures
● International migration from outside of region: Immigrants
from former colonial holdings to central empire, making
Europe a destination region. need workers in shrinking
workforce, and searched for economic opportunites. results
in a failure to merge with new population and culture,
tensions due to labor force competition during
economically difficult times. cultural convergence: ethnic
foods in many European countries
○ Cultural patterns & processes
 ■ Columbian exchange: brought widespread exchange, Irish potatoes
came from America. spread animals, plants, culture (including
slaves), communicable diseases, crops, goods, resources, and ideas
■ Language is romantic and germanic in west, Slavic in east,
sometimes a dividing factor. These are all Indo-European. Multiple
languages in Belgium and Basque of Spain.
■ Religion is Christian. Largely Catholic, but Eastern Orthodox in
East and Protestant in north. Some Islam in Balkan Peninsula due
to conquering empires. Immigration bringing Muslim into Western
European countries, creates conflict.

■ Impact of international migration: results in a failure to merge with

new population and culture, tensions due to labor force
competition during economically difficult times. cultural
convergence: ethnic foods in many European countries
● Political
○ Cold War
■ Who: the US vs. the USSR
■ What: a (mostly ideological and fairly peaceful) war
■ When: In 1945-early 1990s, after World War II,
■ Where: Europe, US, USSR
■ Why: The US wanted to stop the spread of communism and
command economies, while fighting for democracy and capitalism.
■ Iron Curtain: split the continent. East of the curtain, Soviet
Communism dominated. West of it, liberal democracy and market
capitalism, after dictators left. West Europe’s economic recovery
and Eastern Europe’s communism rejection. It is an ideological
boundary.
post-Cold War Eastern Europe
○ Some democracy in all countries since end of cold war
○ Western Europe is more stable with older democracies
○ Eastern Europe is newer, less stable democracies, has government
corruption and ethnic conflicts
Breakup of Yugoslavia
■ Causes & Effects : Left a major cultural-political mismatch.
Communism collapsed, that’s what held Yugoslavia together. Six
regions were based off of ethnicity, and wanted autonomy. It was a
war for independence, contained ethnic cleansing and genocide.
■ Bosnia-Herzegovina : 3 groups fought, war, ethnic cleansing,
genocide
■ Balkanization: smaller countries are created. A group of people -->
smaller hostile political units based off of ethnicity. They put
slavic languages in Yugoslavia, communism held them together.
When communism fell, fought, regions wanted autonomy,
devolutionary turned into centrifugal.
eNvironmental
external forces & landform pattern created
○ Peninsula of Europe created by erosion & weathering
○ Flat in the north due to ice and glaciation

impact of physical geography on history (hint: everything)

■ Irregular coastlines due to erosion and weathering, creates natural
harbors. No country is 300 miles away from the coast, which helps
exploration and colonization and trade routes.
■ Highlands in the south creates limited interactions between north
and southern europe. Cultural divergence results due to isolated
pockets of diverse people. Mountains blocked cold air for warmer
climates and many ecosystems, affecting agriculture and
economies
■ North European Plain creates flat, fertile land for easy flow of
people and goods, high population density near plains. Becomes a
cultural crossroads for Eastern Europe due to many waves of
migration between Europe and Asia, ethnic and religious groups,
led to conflict
■ Rivers create numerous navigable waterways and transport routes,
allowing for cultural convergence. (Thames: allows ships to sail up
to London as a port) (Rhine flows N from Alps, located at the
mouth is one of the worlds most busiest ports, Rotterdam) (Danube
flows through 9 countries, connecting Eastern Europe’s
economies/cultures) Provide travelers and merchants with access
to interior lands. Increased trade, industrialization, and economies.
Most major cities on rivers, sometimes on the coast.

Climate patterns & processes (hint: everything)

○ Ocean currents such as North Atlantic Drift = warm ocean current,
createse marine west coast in western Europe
○ Wind currents like the westerlies from the Atlantic and Siroccos from
Africa
○ Latitude : Scandinavia = polar
○ Elevation : impacts mountains
○ Continentality. Eastern Europe is further inland, where it is humid
continental
Debate over eastern-most boundary
○ Is the border on the Ural mountains? It is a perceptual region.