Europe - History

Europe is conventionally considered one of the seven continents which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiogeographic one. Physically and geologically, Europe is a subcontinent or large peninsula, forming the westernmost part of Eurasia. Europe is bounded to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the west by the Atlantic Ocean and to the south by the Mediterranean and Black Seas and the Caucasus. Europe's boundary to the east is vague, but has traditionally been given as the Ural Mountains and Caspian Se ...

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• Europe - Etymology
• Europe - History
• Europe - Geography and extent
• Europe - Physical features
• Europe - Biodiversity
• Europe - Demographics
• Europe - Territories and divisions
• Europe - Political divisions
• Europe - Linguistic and cultural regions
• Europe - Lists and tables

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Europe has a long history of cultural and economic achievement, starting as far back as the Palaeolithic, although this is true for the rest of the Old World as well. The recent discovery at Monte Poggiolo, Italy, of thousands of hand-shaped stones, tentatively carbon-dated to 800,000 years ago, may prove to be of particular importance. The origins of Western democratic and individualistic culture are often attributed to Ancient Greece, though numerous other distinct influences, in particular Christianity, can also be credited with the spread of concepts like egali ...

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Europe, Europe - Etymology, Europe - History, Europe - Geography and extent, Europe - Physical features, Europe - Biodiversity, Europe - Demographics, Europe - Territories and divisions, Europe - Political divisions, Europe - Linguistic and cultural regions, Europe - Lists and tables

Read more here: » Europe: Encyclopedia II - Europe - History

Europe - Political divisions.    Europe    Extension over ...

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Europe, Europe - Etymology, Europe - History, Europe - Geography and extent, Europe - Physical features, Europe - Biodiversity, Europe - Demographics, Europe - Territories and divisions, Europe - Political divisions, Europe - Linguistic and cultural regions, Europe - Lists and tables

Read more here: » Europe: Encyclopedia II - Europe - Territories and divisions

Having lived side-by-side with agricultural peoples for millennia, Europe's animals and plants have been profoundly affected by the presence and activities of man. With the exception of Scandinavia and northern Russia, few areas of untouched wilderness are today to be found in Europe, except for different natural parks. The main natural vegetation cover in Europe is forest. The conditions for growth are very favourable. In the north, the Gulf Stream and North Atlantic Drift warm the continent. Southern Europe could be described as hav ...

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Europe, Europe - Etymology, Europe - History, Europe - Geography and extent, Europe - Physical features, Europe - Biodiversity, Europe - Demographics, Europe - Territories and divisions, Europe - Political divisions, Europe - Linguistic and cultural regions, Europe - Lists and tables

Read more here: » Europe: Encyclopedia II - Europe - Biodiversity

In Greek mythology, Europa was a Phoenician princess who was abducted by Zeus in bull form and taken to the island of Crete, where she gave birth to Minos. For Homer, Europé (Greek: Ευρωπη; see also List of traditional Greek place names) was a mythological queen of Crete, not a geographical designation. Later Europa stood for mainland Greece, and by 500 BC its meaning had been extended to lands to the north. The Greek term Europe has been derived from Greek words meaning broad (eurys) and face (op ...

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Europe, Europe - Etymology, Europe - History, Europe - Geography and extent, Europe - Physical features, Europe - Biodiversity, Europe - Demographics, Europe - Territories and divisions, Europe - Political divisions, Europe - Linguistic and cultural regions, Europe - Lists and tables

Read more here: » Europe: Encyclopedia II - Europe - Etymology

Geographically Europe is a part of the larger landmass known as Eurasia. The continent begins at the Ural Mountains in Russia, which define Europe's eastern boundary with Asia. The southeast boundary with Asia isn't universally defined. Most commonly the Ural or, alternatively, the Emba river can serve as possible boundaries. The boundary continues with the Caspian Sea, and then the Araxes river in the Caucasus, and on to the Black Sea; the Bosporus, the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles conclude the Asian boundary. The Mediterranean Sea t ...

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Europe, Europe - Etymology, Europe - History, Europe - Geography and extent, Europe - Physical features, Europe - Biodiversity, Europe - Demographics, Europe - Territories and divisions, Europe - Political divisions, Europe - Linguistic and cultural regions, Europe - Lists and tables

Read more here: » Europe: Encyclopedia II - Europe - Geography and extent

Almost all of Europe was possibly settled before or during the last ice age ca. 10,000 years ago. Neanderthal man and modern man coexisted during at least some of this time. Roman road building helped with the interbreeding of the native Europeans' genetics. In contemporary times Europe has one of the lowest inbreeding rates in the world because of an extensive transport network paired with open borders. Europe passed well over 600 million people before the turn of the 20th century, but now is entering a period of population de ...

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Europe, Europe - Etymology, Europe - History, Europe - Geography and extent, Europe - Physical features, Europe - Biodiversity, Europe - Demographics, Europe - Territories and divisions, Europe - Political divisions, Europe - Linguistic and cultural regions, Europe - Lists and tables

Read more here: » Europe: Encyclopedia II - Europe - Demographics