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EUROPE
Geography 102
World Regional Geography
Chapter 1
Basics

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Lingering world influence
Numerous nation-states plagued by internal separatist
movements
Physiography
 Western extremity of Eurasian landmass
 Wide range of topographic, climatic, and soil conditions
Economic Geography
 High degree of differentiation and specialization
 International economic integration
 Manufacturing dominant with high levels of productivity
Population Geography
 Well-off, well-educated, highly urbanized, but aging, population
 Declining population in many countries
 International immigration
Physical
Landscapes


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Central
Landscapes
 Hills and plateaus
loaded with raw
materials
Alpine Mountains
Western Uplands
North European
Lowland
 Avenue for human
migration
 Most of Europe’s
leading cities are
located here
 Many major rivers
and connecting
waterways
Climate
Categories
Relative Location


Relative Location – the location of a place in relation to
other locations/places
Is the relative location of Europe favorable? YES
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
It is at the heart of the land hemisphere
It has maximum efficiency for contact with the rest of the
world
Every part of Europe is close to the sea – a peninsula of
peninsulas
It has hundreds of miles of navigable waterways and system
of canals
There are moderate distances between European countries
Other geographical benefits…

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Wide range of climates
Varied store of raw materials
Home to numerous cultural-linguistic peoples
Relative Location
Historical Geography

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Peopled during the retreat of the last glaciers
Ancient Greece

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Achievements in political science, philosophy, and the arts
that have endured for 25 centuries
Rome

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First-metropolitan-scale urban center in Europe
Unparalleled infrastructure – the foundations of society;
urban centers, transport networks, communications, energy
distribution systems, farms, factories, mines, schools,
hospitals, postal services, and policed/armed forces
Local Functional Specialization – particular people in
particular places concentrate on the production of particular
goods and services

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Elba - iron ore
Parts of North Africa - granaries
Southern Spain - silver and lead
Historical Geography
The Paving of Modern Europe
Europe’s Three Revolutions

Agrarian Revolution
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Began in Europe in the 1750s
The thriving of the port cities and capital
cities created economic opportunities for
farmers which spurred new agricultural
innovations:
 Improved farm practices
 Better equipment
 Better storage facilities
 More efficient transport to urban areas
Enabled increased food production
Enabled sustained population increase
Historical Geography
Von Thunen’s Isolated State Model

Von Thunen’s Isolated State Model

An idealized model of agriculture based on
four concentric land use rings surrounding a
market place
 Start with market center…
1st ring (closest to market center) - intensive farming
and dairying of the most perishable products and
highest-priced products
 2nd ring – forest used for timber and firewood
 3rd ring – extensive field crops: grains, potatoes
 4th ring – pastures and livestock
 Beyond 4th ring – wilderness

VON THUNEN’S ISOLATED STATE
Historical Geography
The Paving of Modern Europe
Europe’s Three Revolutions

Industrial Revolution

Initiated in Britain and quickly spread to the continent
between 1750-1850 due to Britain’s:
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What were some of the innovations?
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control over the flow of raw materials
monopoly over products in global demand
possessed the skills to make the machines that manufacture
the products
Power loom
Steam-driven engine
Coal used to smelt iron instead of charcoal
Proved to be a major catalyst towards increased
urbanization, rapid population growth, and colonial
domination
Europe’s Spatial
Industrial Patterns
after the Industrial
Revolution
Historical Geography
The Paving of Modern Europe
Europe’s Three Revolutions

Political Revolution
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State formation a long evolutionary process in Europe
The French Revolution, 1789-1795
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Laid the foundation for modern nation-states
Democracy and nationalism were the major themes
The rise of the Nation-State (1860-1870’s)
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Nation – a people with a single language, a common history,
and a similar ethnic background
State – a politically organized territory, administered by a
sovereign government and recognized by the international
community. A state must also have:



a permanent resident population
an organized economy
a functioning internal regulation system
THE PAVING OF MODERN EUROPE
Europe’s Three Revolutions

Political Revolution cont.
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In European nation-states…
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People consider themselves to be a nation
Emotional and legal ties are expressed in the state’s legal
institutions, political system, and ideological strength
However, there are few TRUE nation-states (i.e. homogenous
nations bound together in a state): exceptions are Poland,
Hungary and Sweden
Europe’s dichotomy – what is it?


Centrifugal Forces – forces that tear countries apart…like
what?
Centripetal Forces – forces that unify and bind countries
together…like what?
Centripetal Forces in Europe
Supranationalism

Supranationalism – the voluntary association in
economic, political, or cultural spheres of three or
more independent states willing to yield some
measure of sovereignty for mutual benefit
New “Euro”Currency
Centripetal Forces in Europe
History of European Unification

Benelux Agreement 1944
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Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg
Goal: total economic integration
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OEEC – Organization for
European Economic
Cooperation
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Ease flow of goods over borders
Lower restrictive tariffs
Political cooperation
Established to coordinate the
investment of America’s air (under
the Marshall Plan after WWII)
European Economic Community
(“Common Market”), 1957
European Community, 1973
European Union, 1995
Centripetal Forces
The European Union - EU

European organization aimed at coordinating policies
among its members in three areas:
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Economics
Defense
Justice and home affairs
Why would a country want to sacrifice autonomy?
Benefits of Supranationalism?
 Adverse effects of supranationalism?
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EU’s newest members as of May 2004? (know these)
Problems with the new members?
 Cyprus’s duality

The
European
Union
(EU)
Centrifugal Forces in Europe

Devolution – the process by which regions or
peoples within a state, through negotiation or active
rebellion, demand and gain political strength (and
sometimes autonomy) at the expense of the center
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UK – Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
Spain – Basques
France – Corsica
Belgium – Flemish
Former Yugoslavia
Former Czechoslovakia
The Four Motors
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Rhone-Alps region in France, Lombardy in Italy, Catalonia in
Spain, and Baden-Wurttemberg in Germany
Regions bypass their national governments in dealing with
one another and their influence spans the world
DEVOLUTIONARY
AREAS
DEVOLUTION
IN
EUROPE
Economic Geography
Contemporary Europe

Europe is especially endowed with outstanding
opportunities for productive contact and
profitable interaction
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The links between regions, countries, and places
in Europe are guided by three main principles:

Complementarity
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Transferability
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Intervening Opportunity
Economic Geography
Complementarity

Complementarity- two
places, through an exchange
of goods, can specifically
satisfy each other’s demands.
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Occurs when one area has a
surplus of an item demanded by
a second area.
Example: Italy
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Germany
Italy lacks coal
Italy imports coal from Western
Europe and in return exports its
citrus fruits, olives and grapes to
Western Europe
Italy
Economic Geography
Complementarity
Economic Geography
Transferability
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Transferability - the ease with which a
commodity may be transported or the
capacity to move a good at a bearable cost
Do you remember friction of distance?
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Factors that increase the friction of distance:
rivers, mountain passes, road networks
Factors that decrease the friction of distance:
advances in transportation technology, closely
spaced cities/countries
Does Europe have a high or low friction of
distance? Why or why not?
Economic Geography
Intervening Opportunity
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Intervening Opportunity - the presence
of a nearer source of supply or
opportunity that acts to diminish the
attractiveness of more distant sources
and sites
Example: Italy
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A major coalfield is found in Switzerland
Italy would reduce or eliminate its imports of
coal from Western Europe and instead import
coal from Switzerland
Population Geography
An Urban Realm
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A highly urbanized realm:
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1800 – 9% population urbanized
Now – 73% population urbanized
Metropolis – the central city and
its suburban ring
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Primate City – a country’s leading
city, disproportionately large and
exceptionally expressive of national
capacity and feeling
POPULATION DENSITY
EUROPE
Population Density: 265.2 persons per square mile
Urbanization: 73%
Population Geography
European vs. American Cities

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Similarities:
 CBD – Central
Business District
(but CBD more
dominant than in
U.S.)
 Suburban ring
Differences
 High suburban
density – why?
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Greenbelts –
recreational spaces
set aside
Apartments, not
single family homes
Reliance on public
transportation
Centralized urban
planning
Population Geography
Europe is Vanishing…
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The Population Implosion
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The declining of population (as opposed to the
population explosion)
In Europe…population is declining in many countries:
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Austria, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic,
Estonia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia,
Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia,
Spain, Sweden, Ukraine
Total (Replacement) Fertility Rate – the average
number of children a woman needs to bear in order to
replace herself and her partner = 2.1 children
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Europe’s TFR = 1.4
Natural Increase Percent

What is it for European countries?
Population Geography
Europe is Vanishing…
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Why is population declining?
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The greater the urbanization, the less children couples have –
why? Other reasons?
What is the problem with a population implosion?

Less young people = more elderly people
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Number of workers whose taxes pay for social services of the aged
goes down – reduced pensions and dwindling funds for health care
Tax increases to offset losses in tax-base endanger business climate
Other problems?
Decline in population is being offset by immigration: Turks,
Algerians, Moroccans, West Africans, Indonesians
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Vast majority intensely devout, politically aware, and culturally insular
Problems this causes?
European
Regions
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Western Europe
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The British Isles
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Nordic Europe
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Mediterranean
Europe
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Eastern Europe
Regions of the Realm
Western Europe
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Includes Germany, France, Benelux,
Switzerland, Austria, and Liechtenstein
The heart of the European realm
Hub of Europe’s economic power and
unifying drive

World’s richest economies
Regions of the Realm
Western Europe
Germany
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A young country – not created until 1871
Europe’s most populous country, most powerful
economy and most ardent supporter of the EU
Separation after WWII into:
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East Germany – controlled by the U.S.S.R. and modeled
on the Russian-communist model
West Germany – Ally control and formed into a federal
state along democratic lines (thrived economically)
Reunification after the collapse of the Soviet Union
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Disparity between eastern and western states (see Figure
1-15)
West Germany has yet to come up with the economic key
to success for East Germany
States of Germany (Fig. 1-15)
Regions of the Realm
Western Europe
France
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Primate City = Paris – why Paris?

Advantageous Site – the physical attributes of the place it
occupies
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Original settlement on an island in the Seine River - Île de la
Cité
The security the island gave ensured its continuity
Advantageous Situation – a place’s location relative to
surrounding areas of productive capacity, other
cities/towns, barriers to access and movement etc.
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Fertile agricultural hinterland
Numerous waterways and canals connected Paris to other
important agricultural/industrial areas
Radial system of roads ensured easy access and movement
Paris’s Site and Situation
Regions of the Realm
Western Europe
France

Economic Geography
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One of the world’s most productive and most diversified
economies
Post-industrial economy dominated by high-tech industries:
high-speed trains, aircraft, fiber-optic communication
systems, and space-related technologies
World leader in nuclear power
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Supplies 75% of the country’s electricity
Reduces dependence on foreign oil
Rhone-Alps region – self-standing economic powerhouse
and one of Four Motors
Political Geography

22 provinces, and various regions designed to appease
devolutionary forces threatening to tear country apart
Regions of the Realm
Western Europe
Benelux
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Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg
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Regional complementarity between agriculturally
productive Netherlands and industrially developed Belgium
Most densely populated countries on earth
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Dutch have expanded living space by wresting land from the
sea – Zuider Zee project (drained almost entire southern sea)
Belgium
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Devolutionary force between Flemish and Walloons
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Flemish: live in the northwest, speak Dutch, constitute 58% of
the population, but held little power in the 19th and 20th
centuries – granted regional autonomy
Walloons: live in the southeast, speak French, constitute 31%
of the population, and held almost all the government posts
Regions of the Realm
Western Europe
The Alpine States
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Switzerland, Austria, and Liechtenstein
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Switzerland
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Landlocked state – a country located in the interior of a
continent without access to the sea
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Austria
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Advantageous or disadvantageous?
Why is Switzerland a ‘lesson in human geography’? (see book for
answer)
Remnant of the Austro-Hungarian empire
Historical geography similar to Eastern European countries
Liechtenstein
Western Europe
Regions of the
Realm
The British Isles

Two main islands:
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Four main cultural sections:
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Britain
Ireland
England
Scotland
Wales
Ireland
Two main political units:
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
United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Regions of the Realm
The British Isles

Historical Geography

Insularity allowed security and protection from turbulent
continental Europe
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Able to develop parliamentary system
Became world’s largest colonial empire
Site of the Industrial Revolution
The mismatch of physical and political geography
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British occupied Ireland and many protestants from northern Britain
settled in the northeastern portion of Ireland
Ireland set free and made independent, 1921
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British kept control of Northern Ireland due to settlers, hence, United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Left Irish Catholics in British controlled north – caused tension
Intermittent fighting characterizes this situation
Regions of the Realm
The British Isles

United Kingdom

Region of major devolutionary forces:
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The case of Northern Ireland
Welsh nationalism established Welsh Assembly to administer
public services in Wales, 1997
Scottish nationalism formed a Scottish parliament, 1997, and
hopes for an independent Scotland persist
Republic of Ireland
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“Celtic Tiger”
An EU success story

Growing, booming, service-based economy reflected by burgeoning
cities/towns, mushrooming industrial parks, bustling traffic, and
construction everywhere
Regions of the
Realm
Northern (Nordic)
Europe

Peripheral situation

Remote, isolated, and
environmentally
severe
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No major shipping
lanes
Limited interaction
Removed from wars
Democratic
governments,
individual rights and
social welfare, strong
participation of women
Mediterranean Europe
Mediterranean Europe



Includes Italy, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Cyprus,
and Malta
A discontinuous region of peninsulas
On the periphery of the European core

Core-periphery contrasts sharp in some places

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Only northern Italy and northern Spain part of the core
Urbanization lower than rest of Europe
Living standards lag behind rest of Europe
Mediterranean climate
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Hot-dry summers
Distinct agricultural plants/produce – like what?
Regions of the Realm
Mediterranean Europe

Italy
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Best connected to the European core
Most economically advanced
Displays a sharp north/south contrast
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Ancona line - zone of transition between north and south
In the north:

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Prominent cities: Milan, Turin, Florence, and Venice
Contains one of Europe’s Four Motors
Contains leading manufacturing complex, skilled labor force,
hydroelectric power, and creates wide range of export products
In the south:

Stagnant, rural, poor, immigration problems
Italy
Economic
Disparity
between the
North and the
South
The Ancona
Line
Regions of the Realm
Mediterranean Europe

Spain

Devolution a major force:
 Basque Country


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A group of people in Northern Spain and Southern France
Separate and very distinct culture and language (Basque is related to
NO other language in the world)
ETA - Euskadi Ta Azkatasuna (Basque Homeland and Freedom)

Waged bloody campaign for independence against Spain, 1960’stoday
Catalonia (Barcelona)


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Leading industrial area, fierce nationalism, own language and culture,
one of Four Motors
High-tech regional economy
Produces 25% of Spain’s exports and 40% of Spain’s industrial
exports
Issue: Catalonian separatism
DEVOLUTIONARY
AREAS
DEVOLUTION
IN
EUROPE
Regions of the Realm
Mediterranean Europe

Spain cont.

Sharp north/south contrasts
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In the north….think Catalonia
In the south…
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Drought-prone, inadequate land reform, scare resources, and
remoteness from growth areas in Spain
Dispute over Gibraltar (‘The Rock’) with Britain

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Gibraltar ceded to Britain (in perpetuity), 1713
British colony with 30,000 residents and British institutions,
legal rules, and schools
Spain demands Gibraltar back, but British colonists refuse
Gibraltar – “The Rock”
Regions of the Realm
Mediterranean Europe
The Question of Cyprus

Historical Geography




Turks conquered and
controlled island, 1571-1878
British took over, 1878
Independence with majority
rule (80% Greeks) but minority
rights (Turks), 1960
Civil war, 1974



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Partition into southern Greek
portion and northern Turkish
portion
The Green Line separates the
two sides
Turkish Republic of Northern
Cyprus declared, 1983,
recognized only by Turkey
The Greek side joined the
European Union, 2004
Regions of
the Realm
Eastern
Europe
Regions of the Realm
Eastern Europe

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Contains the most countries
Includes Europe’s largest state but also incorporates
Europe’s poorest state
Reaches into the Russian zone of influence
Key Concepts:

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Balkanization
Irredentism
Ethnic Cleansing
Devolution
Shatter belt
Regions of the Realm
Eastern Europe

Balkanization – the
fragmentation of a region
in smaller, often hostile
political units



Stems from the verb
balkanize, which means
fragment
Applied to the Southern
half of Eastern Europe, i.e.,
the Balkan countries of
the Balkan Peninsula
Shatter Belt – a zone of
persistent splintering and
fracturing
WHY HERE?
Regions of the Realm
Eastern Europe

Why do the terms shatter belt and balkanization
describe this area so aptly?


Area of tumultuous migrations, epic battles, foreign
invasions, and imperial episodes
Different cultures have come and stayed in this region
leaving their imprint on the cultural landscape and conflict
in their wake:


Romans and the Soviet Empire
Religious



Christian Orthodox from the east
Roman Catholicism from the southeast
Muslims (Ottomans) from the south
Regions of the Realm
Eastern Europe

Irredentism - A
policy of cultural
extension and
political expansion
aimed at a
national group
living in a
neighboring
country

Example: Hungary
RIVER & BORDER
MINORITY
POPULATION
A
BORDER
ADJUSTMENT
COUNTRIES
A
B
ETHNIC
GROUPS IN
EASTERN
EUROPE
Regions of the Realm
Eastern Europe


Ethnic Cleansing refers to the forcible
ouster of entire
populations from
their homelands by
stronger powers
bent on taking their
territories
Example: cleansing
of Bosnians by
Serbs in former
Yugoslavia
MINORITY
POPULATION
A
B
BORDER
COUNTRIES
A
ETHNIC MOSIAC
OF EASTERN EUROPE
Regions of the Realm
Eastern Europe

Countries Facing the Baltic

Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Belarus



Soviet domination affected and continues to affect these
countries
Which of these countries joined the EU in 2004?
The Landlocked Center

The Velvet Divorce



Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia
after the Slovaks disagreed with the direction of economic
reforms after the Soviet era
Called velvet because of the ease and peacefulness with
which it was achieved
Hungary

Irredentism in the form of the Status Law in which Hungary
grants work, health and travel benefits to ethnic Hungarians
living in neighboring countries
Regions of the Realm
Eastern Europe

Countries Facing the Black Sea

Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, and Bulgaria

Ukraine


Divide between Russian east and European west
 Each side had a presidential candidate
 Pro-Russian candidate ‘won’ in narrow and fraudulent
contest
 Parliament and supreme court voided results
Conflict exemplifies conflict between future and past,
democracy and authoritarianism, Russia and Europe
Regions of the Realm
Eastern Europe

Countries Facing the Adriatic Sea


Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Macedonia, SerbiaMontenegro
In 1990, only two countries existed: Yugoslavia
and Albania

After WWI, 7 major and 17 minor cultural groups thrown
together


Slovenes and Croats (Roman Catholics), Serbs (Serbian
Orthodox Church), Muslims
Serbs dominated political life, after WWII communism took
root
Regions of the Realm
Eastern Europe

The disintegration of Yugoslavia

Collapse of communism led to declaration of independence
by Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Macedonia, and Serbia


Slovenia and Macedonia – relatively peaceful
Brutal wars in Croatia and Bosnia




Serbia-Montenegro


Fighting over the rights of minorities in each of the newly declared
states
Croatia - 88% Croat, 12% Serb minority
Bosnia - conflict between Serbs, Croats, and Muslims
What has happened with Montenegro?
Kosovo – (Muslims vs. repressive Serbs) now NATO
controlled
Former Yugoslavia
Bosnia
The ‘Cauldron
of Calamity’
Serbs
Muslims
Croats
No majority