EUROPE

IN THE BEGINNING…

In Greek mythology, Europa was a princess abducted by Zeus (in the form of a dazzling white bull). Zeus took Europa to Crete where she gave birth to Minos (who became a judge of the dead in Hades)

For Homer (author of The Odyssey) Europe was a mythological queen of Crete

Mainland Greece became known as EuropaBy 500BC it came to refer to the lands north

of Greece as well

Sangria

HISTORY

Prehistory homo georgicus: existed 1.8 million years ago found in Georgia

Classical Antiquity Ancient Greece

Concepts of the city-state and philosophy Ancient Rome

Law and government, architecture and engineering, language

Dark Ages (approx. 500AD to 1000AD) Invasions and migrations

Middle Ages (approx. 1000AD to 1300AD) Feudalism, the Black Death and the Roman Catholic Church

HISTORY

Renaissance (approx. 1300AD to 1700AD) Began in Italy – intellectual pursuits, educational reform

Age of Enlightenment (18th century) Scientific and reason-based thought French Revolution resulted in the nation-state Colonisation of Asia, Africa and the Americas

Industrial Revolution (19th century) Began in Great Britain – invention and implementation of

new technologies20th century

Europe’s power declines after world wars – rise of USSR and USA

Burn from a pizza oven

GEOGRAPHY

One of the traditional seven continents Sub-continent of EURASIA Separated from Asia by the Ural Mountains, the Ural

River and the Caspian SeaCovers about 10 180 000 square kilometres

2% of the Earth’s surface area 6.8% of Earth’s land area

Number of sovereign states varies (about 50) Includes western Russia, the world’s largest country Includes the Vatican, the world’s smallest country

Political map of Europe

Topographic map of Europe

CLIMATE

Generally mild, particularly in comparison to places in Asia and North America of the same latitude. Gulf Stream

Longer, colder winters and shorter, cooler summers in the north than in the south

Longer, colder winters and shorter, hotter summers in the east than in the west

Most rain falls just west of mountains Britain, Norway

Least rain falls east of mountains, far from the Atlantic and along the Arctic coast Spain, Scandinavia, Russia

Climatic map of Europe

POPULATION

3rd most populous continent After Asia and Africa

731 000 000 or 11% of the world’s total population Last century, Europe had 25% of the world’s population Projected population in 2050 is 653 000 000 or 7% of the

world’s total populationInfluences on Europe’s demography…

Religious emigration Race relations Economic immigration Declining birth rate Aging population

POPULATION

Europe’s largest cities are… Istanbul Moscow London Paris Madrid Barcelona Saint Petersburg Milan Berlin Rome Athens

Fast food in the Netherlands

ETHNICITY

Europe’s largest ethnics groups are (in order)…

Russians (90million) Germans (76million) French (63million) Italians (58million) English (45million) Spanish (42million) Poles (42million) Ukrainians (41million)

Where am I from?

Dutch beer menu

LANGUAGE

Europe has 30 to 40 major languagesThe EU recognised 23 official languages in 2007There are 8 language familiesThe seven most natively spoken languages are…

German 18% French 13% Italian 12% English 12% Spanish 9% Polish 9% Dutch 5%

LANGUAGE

However, the top eight languages spoken in Europe are… English 51% German 33% French 28% Italian 16% Spanish 15% Polish 10% Russian 7% Dutch 6%

In a Dutch sandwich shop

POLITICS

1957: European Economic Community Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxemburg, the

Netherlands 1967: European Communities

Merging of EEC, the European Coal and Steel Community and Euratom (European Atomic Energy Community)

1993: European Union Political centre is in Brussels 27 member states, which are…

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK

Political map of the development of the European Union from 1957

Scottish staple

Fija de Espana

In memory of mi amigo, Nacho