Chapter 1: Europe Part 1: Teacher Notes

Transcription

1 Chapter 1: Europe Part 1: Teacher Notes Introduction: Over the past 5 centuries Europe has influenced and changed the world more than any other realm Helped create new societies o Through imperialism & colonialism Moved millions of people o Africans to America o Indians to Africa o Chinese to Southeast Asia o Malays to South Africa Europe has had its share of conflict o Religious, territorial, political disputes o WWI, WWII, Cold War Major Geographic Qualities 1. Easy access to the rest of the World 2. World influence = Political & Economic domination 3. Varying natural environment = many resources 4. Regional differentiation = exchange opportunities & specialization 5. Manufacturing, technology & service = prosperity 6. Nation States emerged = Separatist movements followed 7. Europe s aging population is highly urbanized, well educated, and financially independent 8. Population decline = Offset by immigration 9. International economic integration = Political integration within Europe Defining the Realm 1. Geographical Features a. 40 Countries, 590 million people i. Rather small territory b. Borders i. West = Atlantic Ocean ii. North = Artic Ocean iii. South = Mediterranean Ocean iv. East = Russia c. Resources i. Large & varied d. Climate i. Very diverse e. Human Diversity i. Many groups ii. Latins, Germans, Slavs, Finns, Magyars, Basques, Celts f. Locational Advantages

2 i. Centrally located ii. Easily accessed for other countries 2. Landscapes a. Physiography i. Any part of our terrestrial world b. Central Uplands i. Heart of Europe ii. Hills & Low plateaus c. Alpine Mountains i. Pyrenees -> Alps -> Balkans d. Western Uplands i. Older, Lower, More Stable ii. Scandinavia to Spain & the British Isles e. Northern European Lowland i. Southeastern Britain to Russia ii. Great European Plain 3. Historical Geography a. Ancient Greece i. Laid foundations of European civilizations b. Ancient Rome i. Borrowed from Greeks ii. Unparalleled Infrastructure iii. Established Romance languages iv. Also Established 1. Educations systems 2. Administrative systems 3. Commerce Systems c. Local Functional Specialization i. Hallmark of Europe ii. Production of a particular good in a particular place by a particular people d. Renaissance (1400s) i. European Revival ii. Critical rebirth from the Dark Ages e. Mercantilism i. A competitive accumulation of wealth from overseas exploration 4. Revolutions of Modernizing Europe a. Agrarian Revolution i. More people & creation of cities = Need more food ii. Improvements in: 1. Farming Practices 2. Transportation iii. Landownership broadened iv. New crops from America (Potato v. The Isolated State (Page 54) (Von Thunen) An economic geographer built a model that depicted the Model of farming known as Location Theory

3 vi. Location Theory is an ag model circling the city was in this order: intensive farming/dairy, forest, field crops, animal ranching, wilderness. b. Industrial Revolution i. Local Functional Specialization existed long before Industrial Rev. ii. British Primacy 1. James Watt invented the steam engine (1780s) Many different uses 2. Charcoal -> Coal -> Coke (Carbon-Rich) a. Better for smelting iron b. No longer solely dependent on wood c. Coal fields become vital d. Power looms became prominent in fabric business e. Ocean shipping & transportation changed forever 3. Resources a. Coal fields & Iron belts are discovered b. Manufacturing zones set up around these resources c. Clustering of people 4. Clustering: Many gather in one area to take advantage of resources a. Agglomerative Concentrating b. Deglomerative Dispersing 5. Political Revolutions a. Peace of Westphalia ( ) i. Recognized boundaries and sovereignty b. French Revolution ( ) 6. Division and Unity: a. Nationalism emerges b. Division is common i. Germany was 39 states until 1870 s c. Centrifugal forces divisions over race, religion, linguistic, political, regional d. Centripetal forces unifying force, people are satisfied 5. Contemporary Europe a. Europe is ultra-modern & powerful as one entity collectively b. As singular states there is much conflict. i. Past & Present ii. Many areas of backwardness throughout 6. Language and Religion: a. Multiculturalism is a problem

4 i. English is the unofficial official language. b. Religion while Christian, there still exists conflict between Catholics and Protestants. c. Eastern Europe conflict is between the Christian Orthodox and Islam d. Islam is on the rise in the west while Christianity is on the decline 7. Spatial Interaction: (Edward Ullman) Complementarity a. when 2 or more regions satisfy each other s trade needs. Transferability a. transporting goods with ease, Europe has a great transportation system Intervening Opportunity a. trade occurs only when it can t be found close at hand. 8. Highly Urbanized Realm: Primate City a. the country s leading city is disproportionately large and exceptionally expressive of the national culture. Metropolis a. central city and suburban rings Central Business District a. oldest part of urban agglomeration, the wealthiest and most prestigious section. European s prefer apartments to get open spaces vs. individual homes. 9. Changing Population: a. Europe s indigenous population is declining i) This dangerous when the elderly outnumber the young. b. Immigration is offsetting some of these losses i) Islam is spreading. ii) The immigrants face prejudice, poverty, and are more isolated (often of own choosing) which means assimilation doesn t occur.

5 c. Divisions are growing throughout Europe. 10. Europe s Modern Transportation: a) Unification 1. Following WWII Europe was devastated. a. The US created the Marshall Plan to help them rebuild Western Europe. b. Russia pulled the eastern block countries back and assisted them, but not to the same extent. 2. The Marshall Plan created unity in the west of Europe. 3. Supranationalism when 3 or more nations create a voluntary association in economics, politics, and cultural spheres -they are willing to yield some sovereignty for mutual benefit. b) Policies & Priorities Common Market nations European Community 1973 by 1995 there were 15 nations European Union 1995 present 27 nations today Euro the new currency of the EU. c) Momentous Expansion Problems: a. Will the weaker nations weaken the larger body? b. How big should they grow? c. Who to include? d. How will Russia react? e. Commons policies: agriculture, economics, industry, subsidy programs f. What to do with Yugoslavia, Ukraine, and Turkey? d) Centrifugal Forces: see map on page 69 A. Devolutionary Pressures regions seeking independence from their larger states. England: Scotland, Wales, N. Ireland Spain: Basques

6 e) European Union s New Economic Geography: Four Motors of Europe European growth centers, they often reach beyond their national governments. A. France Rhone-Alps Region Lyon, France B. Italy Lombardy in Northern Italy Milan, Italy C. Spain Catalonia Barcelona, Spain D. Germany Badden-Wurttemberg Stuttgart, Germany Regional States another way to describe the 4 motors of Europe.