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Europe
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For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation).

Europe

Area
10,180,000 km2 (3,930,000 sq mi)[o]
Population
738,200,000[o] (2010), 3rd)
Pop. density
72,5/km2
Demonym
European
Countries
50 (list of countries)
Languages
List of languages
Time Zones
UTC to UTC+6
Internet TLD
.eu (European Union)
Largest cities
List of metropolitan areas in Europe
Europe (pronunciation: /ˈjʊərəp/ yewr-əp or /ˈjɜrəp/ yur-əp[1]) is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. It is also known as the old continent. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting the Black and Aegean Seas.[2] Europe is bordered by the Arctic Ocean and other bodies of water to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and the Black Sea and connected waterways to the southeast. Yet the borders of Europe—a concept dating back to classical antiquity—are somewhat arbitrary, as the primarily physiographic term "continent" can incorporate cultural and political elements.
Europe is the world's second-smallest continent by surface area, covering about 10,180,000 square kilometres (3,930,000 sq mi) or 2% of the Earth's surface and about 6.8% of its land area. Of Europe's approximately 50 states, Russia is the largest by both area and population (although the country has territory in both Europe and Asia), while the Vatican City is the smallest. Europe is the third-most populous continent after Asia and Africa, with a population of 733 million or about 11% of the world's population.[3]
Europe, in particular Ancient Greece, is the birthplace of Western culture.[4] It played a predominant role in global affairs from the 16th century onwards, especially after the beginning of colonialism. Between the 16th and 20th centuries, European nations controlled at various times the Americas, most of Africa, Oceania, and large portions of Asia. Both World Wars were largely focused upon Europe, greatly contributing to a decline in Western European dominance in world affairs by the mid-20th century as the United States and Soviet Union took prominence.[5] During the Cold War, Europe was divided along the Iron Curtain between NATO in the west and the Warsaw Pact in the east. European integration led to the formation of the Council of Europe and the European Union in Western Europe, both of which have been expanding eastward since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Contents [hide]
1 Definition
2 Etymology
3 History
3.1 Prehistory
3.2 Classical antiquity
3.3 Early Middle Ages
3.4 Middle Ages
3.5 Early modern period
3.6 18th and 19th centuries
3.7 20th century to present
4 Geography
4.1 Climate
4.2 Geology
4.2.1 Geological history
4.3 Biodiversity
5 Political geography
6 Integration
7 Economy
7.1 Pre–1945: Industrial growth
7.2 1945–1990: The Cold War
7.3 1991–2007: Integration and reunification
7.4 2008–2010: Recession
8 Demographics
8.1 Language
8.2 Religion
9 Culture
10 See also
11 Notes
12 References
13 External links
Definition
Further information: List of countries spanning more than one continent
Further information: Borders of the continents

Reconstruction of Herodotus' world map

A medieval T and O map from 1472 showing the division of the world into 3 continents

Europa regina map from Münster (1570). The British Isles and Scandinavia are not included in Europe proper.
The use of the term "Europe" has developed gradually throughout history.[6][7] In antiquity, the Greek historian Herodotus mentioned that the world had been divided by unknown persons into the three continents of Europe, Asia, and Libya (Africa), with the Nile and the River Phasis forming their boundaries—though he also states that some considered the River Don, rather than the Phasis, as the boundary between Europe and Asia.[8] Europe's eastern frontier was defined in the 1st century by geographer Strabo at the River Don[9] Flavius and the Book of Jubilees described the continents as the lands given by Noah to his three sons; Europe was defined as stretching from the Pillars of Hercules at the Strait of Gibraltar, separating it from Africa, to the Don, separating it from Asia.[10]
A cultural definition of Europe as the lands of Latin Christendom coalesced in the 8th century, signifying the new cultural condominium created through the confluence of Germanic traditions and Christian-Latin culture, defined partly in contrast with Byzantium and Islam, and limited to northern Iberia, the British Isles, France, Christianized western Germany, the Alpine regions and northern and central Italy.[11] The concept is one of the lasting legacies of the Carolingian Renaissance: "Europa" often figures in the letters of Charlemagne's cultural minister, Alcuin.[12] This division—as much cultural as geographical—was used until the Late Middle Ages, when it was challenged by the Age of Discovery.[13][14][why?] The problem of redefining Europe was finally resolved in 1730 when, instead of waterways, the Swedish geographer and cartographer von Strahlenberg proposed the Ural Mountains as the most significant eastern boundary, a suggestion that found favour in Russia and throughout Europe.[15]
Europe is now generally defined by geographers as the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, with its boundaries marked by large bodies of water to the north, west and south; Europe's limits to the far east are usually taken to be the Urals, the Ural River, and the Caspian Sea; to the south-east, the Caucasus Mountains, the Black Sea and the waterways connecting the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea.[16] Because of sociopolitical and cultural differences, there are various descriptions of Europe's boundary. For example, Cyprus is approximate to Anatolia (or Asia Minor), but is often considered part of Europe and currently is a member state of the EU. In addition, Malta was considered an island of Africa for centuries,[17] while Iceland, though nearer to Greenland (North America), is also generally included in Europe.
Sometimes, the word 'Europe' is used in a geopolitically limiting way[18] to refer only to the European Union or, even more exclusively, a culturally defined core. On the other hand, the Council of Europe has 47 member countries, and only 27 member states are in the EU.[19] In addition, people living in insular areas such as Ireland, the United Kingdom, the North Atlantic and Mediterranean islands and also in Scandinavia may routinely refer to "continental" or "mainland" Europe simply as Europe or "the Continent".[20]
Clickable map of Europe, showing one of the most commonly used continental boundaries[21]Key: blue: states which straddle the border between Europe and Asia; green: states not geographically in Europe, but closely associated politically[22]

Alb.
And.
Austria
Armenia
Azer.
Belarus
Belgium
BiH
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus
CzechRep.
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Georgia
Greece
Greenland (Dk)
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
S. Mar.
Kazakhstan
Kos.
Latvia
Liech.
Lithuania
Lux.
Mac.
Malta
Moldova
Mon.
Mont.
Neth.
Norway
Svalbard (Nor)
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Serbia
Slovakia
Slo.
Spain
Sweden
Switz-
erland
Turkey
Ukraine
UnitedKingdom
Far. (Dk)
Vat.
Adr-
iatic
Sea
Arctic Ocean
BalticSea
Aegean
Sea
Barents Sea
Bay ofBiscay
BlackSea
AzovSea
CaspianSea
CelticSea
Greenland Sea
Baffin Bay
Gulf ofCadiz
LigurianSea
Mediterranean Sea
NorthAtlanticOcean
NorthSea
NorwegianSea
Strait of Gibraltar
Etymology

Europa and the bull on a Greek vase. Tarquinia Museum, circa 480 BC
In ancient Greek mythology, Europa was a Phoenician princess whom Zeus abducted after assuming the form of a dazzling white bull. He took her to the island of Crete where she gave birth to Minos, Rhadamanthus and Sarpedon. For Homer, Europe (Greek: Εὐρώπη, Eurṓpē; see also List of Greek place names) was a mythological queen of Crete, not a geographical designation. Later, Europa stood for central-north Greece, and by 500 BC its meaning had been extended to the lands to the north.
The name of Europa is of uncertain etymology.[23] One theory suggests that it is derived from the Greek εὐρύς (eurus), meaning "wide, broad"[24] and ὤψ/ὠπ-/ὀπτ- (ōps/ōp-/opt-), meaning "eye, face, countenance",[25] hence Eurṓpē, "wide-gazing", "broad of aspect" (compare with glaukōpis (γλαυκῶπις 'grey-eyed') Athena or boōpis (βοὠπις 'ox-eyed') Hera). Broad has been an epithet of Earth itself in the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European religion.[26] Another theory suggests that it is based on a Semitic word such as the Akkadian erebu meaning "to go down, set" (cf. Occident),[27] cognate to Phoenician 'ereb "evening; west" and Arabic Maghreb, Hebrew ma'ariv (see also Erebus, PIE *h1regʷos, "darkness"). However, M. L. West states that "phonologically, the match between Europa's name and any form of the Semitic word is very poor".[28]
Most major world languages use words derived from "Europa" to refer to the "continent" (peninsula). Chinese, for example, uses the word Ōuzhōu (歐洲); this term is also used by the European Union in Japanese-language diplomatic relations, despite the katakana Yōroppa (ヨーロッパ?) being more commonly used. However, in some Turkic languages the originally Persian name Frangistan (land of the Franks) is used casually in referring to much of Europe, besides official names such as Avrupa or Evropa.[29]
History
Main article: History of Europe
Prehistory
Main article: Prehistoric Europe

Ġgantija, Malta

The Lady of Vinča, neolithic pottery from Serbia

Stonehenge, England

The Nebra sky disk from Bronze age Germany
Homo georgicus, which lived roughly 1.8 million years ago in Georgia, is the earliest hominid to have been discovered in Europe.[30] Other hominid remains, dating back roughly 1 million years, have been discovered in Atapuerca, Spain.[31] Neanderthal man (named for the Neandertal valley in Germany) appeared in Europe 150,000 years ago and disappeared from the fossil record about 28,000 BC, with this extinction probably due to climate change, and their final refuge being present-day Portugal. The Neanderthals were supplanted by modern humans (Cro-Magnons), who appeared in Europe around 43 to 40 thousand years ago.[32]
The European Neolithic period—marked by the cultivation of crops and the raising of livestock, increased numbers of settlements and the widespread use of pottery—began around 7000 BC in Greece and the Balkans, probably influenced by earlier farming practices in Anatolia and the Near East. It spread from South Eastern Europe along the valleys of the Danube and the Rhine (Linear Pottery culture) and along the Mediterranean coast (Cardial culture). Between 4500 and 3000 BC, these central European neolithic cultures developed further to the west and the north, transmitting newly acquired skills in producing copper artefacts. In Western Europe the Neolithic period was characterized not by large agricultural settlements but by field monuments, such as causewayed enclosures, burial mounds and megalithic tombs.[33] The Corded Ware cultural horizon flourished at the transition from the Neolithic to the Chalcolithic. During this period giant megalithic monuments, such as the Megalithic Temples of Malta and Stonehenge, were constructed throughout Western and Southern Europe.[34][35] The European Bronze Age began in the late 3rd millennium BC with the Beaker culture.
The European Iron Age began around 800 BC, with the Hallstatt culture. Iron Age colonisation by the Phoenicians gave rise to early Mediterranean cities. Early Iron Age Italy and Greece from around the 8th century BC gradually gave rise to historical Classical antiquity.
Classical antiquity
Main article: Classical antiquity
See also: Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome

The Greek Temple of Apollo, Paestum, Italy
Ancient Greece had a profound impact on Western civilisation. Western democratic and individualistic culture are often attributed to Ancient Greece.[36] The Greeks invented the polis, or city-state, which played a fundamental role in their concept of identity.[37] These Greek political ideals were rediscovered in the late 18th century by European philosophers and idealists. Greece also generated many cultural contributions: in philosophy, humanism and rationalism under Aristotle, Socrates and Plato; in history with Herodotus and Thucydides; in dramatic and narrative verse, starting with the epic poems of Homer;[36] and in science with Pythagoras, Euclid and Archimedes.[38][39][40]

The Roman Empire at its greatest extent
Another major influence on Europe came from the Roman Empire which left its mark on law, language, engineering, architecture, and government.[41] During the pax romana, the Roman Empire expanded to encompass the entire Mediterranean Basin and much of Europe.[42]
Stoicism influenced Roman emperors such as Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius, who all spent time on the Empire's northern border fighting Germanic, Pictish and Scottish tribes.[43][44] Christianity was eventually legitimised by Constantine I after three centuries of imperial persecution.
Early Middle Ages
Main articles: Late Antiquity and Early Middle Ages
See also: Dark Ages (historiography) and Age of Migrations

Roland pledges fealty to Charlemagne, Holy Roman Emperor.
During the decline of the Roman Empire, Europe entered a long period of change arising from what historians call the "Age of Migrations". There were numerous invasions and migrations amongst the Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Goths, Vandals, Huns, Franks, Angles, Saxons, Slavs, Avars, Bulgars and, later still, the Vikings and Magyars.[42] Renaissance thinkers such as Petrarch would later refer to this as the "Dark Ages".[45] Isolated monastic communities were the only places to safeguard and compile written knowledge accumulated previously; apart from this very few written records survive and much literature, philosophy, mathematics, and other thinking from the classical period disappeared from Europe.[46]
During the Dark Ages, the Western Roman Empire fell under the control of various tribes. The Germanic and Slav tribes established their domains over Western and Eastern Europe respectively.[47] Eventually the Frankish tribes were united under Clovis I.[48] Charlemagne, a Frankish king of the Carolingian dynasty who had conquered most of Western Europe, was anointed "Holy Roman Emperor" by the Pope in 800. This led to the founding of the Holy Roman Empire, which eventually became centred in the German principalities of central Europe.[49]
The predominantly Greek speaking Eastern Roman Empire became known in the west as the Byzantine Empire. Its capital was Constantinople. Emperor Justinian I presided over Constantinople's first golden age: he established a legal code, funded the construction of the Hagia Sophia and brought the Christian church under state control.[50] Fatally weakened by the sack of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade, the Byzantines fell in 1453 when they were conquered by the Ottoman Empire.[51]
Middle Ages
Main articles: High Middle Ages, Late Middle Ages, and Middle Ages
See also: Medieval demography
The economic growth of Europe around the year 1000, together with the lack of safety on the mainland trading routes, made possible the development of major commercial routes along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. In this context, the growing independence acquired by some coastal cities gave the Maritime Republics a leading role in the European scene.

Richard I and Philip II, during the Third Crusade
The Middle Ages on the mainland were dominated by the two upper echelons of the social structure: the nobility and the clergy. Feudalism developed in France in the Early Middle Ages and soon spread throughout Europe.[52] A struggle for influence between the nobility and the monarchy in England led to the writing of the Magna Carta and the establishment of a parliament.[53] The primary source of culture in this period came from the Roman Catholic Church. Through monasteries and cathedral schools, the Church was responsible for education in much of Europe.[52]
The Papacy reached the height of its power during the High Middle Ages. A East-West Schism in 1054 split the former Roman Empire religiously, with the Eastern Orthodox Church in the Byzantine Empire and the Roman Catholic Church in the former Western Roman Empire. In 1095 Pope Urban II called for a crusade against Muslims occupying Jerusalem and the Holy Land.[54] In Europe itself, the Church organised the Inquisition against heretics. In Spain, the Reconquista concluded with the fall of Granada in 1492, ending over seven centuries of Muslim presence in the Iberian Peninsula.[55]

The Battle of Crécy in 1346, from a manuscript of Jean Froissart's Chronicles; the battle established England as a military power.
In the 11th and 12th centuries, constant incursions by nomadic Turkic tribes, such as the Pechenegs and the Kipchaks, caused a massive migration of Slavic populations to the safer, heavily forested regions of the north.[56] Like many other parts of Eurasia, these territories were overrun by the Mongols.[57] The invaders, later known as Tatars, formed the state of the Golden Horde, which ruled the southern and central expanses of Russia for over three centuries.[58]
The Great Famine of 1315–1317 was the first crisis that would strike Europe in the late Middle Ages.[59] The period between 1348 and 1420 witnessed the heaviest loss. The population of France was reduced by half.[60][61] Medieval Britain was afflicted by 95 famines,[62] and France suffered the effects of 75 or more in the same period.[63] Europe was devastated in the mid-14th century by the Black Death, one of the most deadly pandemics in human history which killed an estimated 25 million people in Europe alone—a third of the European population at the time.[64]
The plague had a devastating effect on Europe's social structure; it induced people to live for the moment as illustrated by Giovanni Boccaccio in The Decameron (1353). It was a serious blow to the Roman Catholic Church and led to increased persecution of Jews, foreigners, beggars and lepers.[65] The plague is thought to have returned every generation with varying virulence and mortalities until the 18th century.[66] During this period, more than 100 plague epidemics swept across Europe.[67]
Early modern period
Main article: Early modern period
See also: Renaissance, Protestant Reformation, Scientific Revolution, and Age of Discovery

The School of Athens by Raphael: Contemporaries such as Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci (centre) are portrayed as classical scholars

Battle of Vienna in 1683 broke the advance of the Ottoman Empire into Europe
The Renaissance was a period of cultural change originating in Florence and later spreading to the rest of Europe. in the 14th century. The rise of a new humanism was accompanied by the recovery of forgotten classical Greek and Arabic knowledge from monastic libraries, often re-translanted from Arabic into Latin.[68][69][70] The Renaissance spread across Europe between the 14th and 16th centuries: it saw the flowering of art, philosophy, music, and the sciences, under the joint patronage of royalty, the nobility, the Roman Catholic Church, and an emerging merchant class.[71][72][73] Patrons in Italy, including the Medici family of Florentine bankers and the Popes in Rome, funded prolific quattrocento and cinquecento artists such as Raphael, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci.[74][75]
Political intrigue within the Church in the mid-14th century caused the Great Schism. During this forty-year period, two popes—one in Avignon and one in Rome—claimed rulership over the Church. Although the schism was eventually healed in 1417, the papacy's spiritual authority had suffered greatly.[76]
The Church's power was further weakened by the Protestant Reformation (1517–1648), initially sparked by the works of German theologian Martin Luther, a result of the lack of reform within the Church. The Reformation also damaged the Holy Roman Empire's power, as German princes became divided between Protestant and Roman Catholic faiths.[77] This eventually led to the Thirty Years War (1618–1648), which crippled the Holy Roman Empire and devastated much of Germany, killing between 25 and 40 percent of its population.[78] In the aftermath of the Peace of Westphalia, France rose to predominance within Europe.[79] The 17th century in southern and eastern Europe was a period of general decline.[80] Eastern Europe experienced more than 150 famines in a 200-year period between 1501 to 1700.[81]
The Renaissance and the New Monarchs marked the start of an Age of Discovery, a period of exploration, invention, and scientific development.[82] According to Peter Barrett, "It is widely accepted that 'modern science' arose in the Europe of the 17th century (towards the end of the Renaissance), introducing a new understanding of the natural world."[68] In the 15th century, Portugal and Spain, two of the greatest naval powers of the time, took the lead in exploring the world.[83][84] Christopher Columbus reached the New World in 1492, and soon after the Spanish and Portuguese began establishing colonial empires in the Americas.[85] France, the Netherlands and England soon followed in building large colonial empires with vast holdings in Africa, the Americas, and Asia.