Although there is no geological separation of the landmass between Europe and Asia, political considerations have played a role in Europe always being regarded as a separate continent. The continent has got its name from a Phoenician Princess, named Europa, in Greek mythology.
The events that have taken place in Europe have been the basis of much of western civilization, as we know it today. Some of the noteworthy events include: The profound impact of Ancient Greece on Western civilization, with the individualism and democratic culture being credited to it. Many cultural aspects of the West have had its roots in the rationalism, humanism and philosophy of people like Plato, Aristotle and Socrates. Scientists like Archimedes, Euclid and Pythagoras provided the basis for scientific knowledge.
The establishment of the Roman Empire was another major influence, with it leaving its mark on government, law, architecture, language and engineering and which also saw the establishment of the Roman Catholic Church. After the Roman Empire declined, Europe went through epochal periods such as the Dark Ages, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the Age of Enlightenment.
The first part of the 20th century saw Europe engulfed in two world wars as well as the great economic depression. World War I, from 1914 to 1918, resulted in drastic changes in the continent. The Russian Revolution took place in Russia, which resulted in the toppling of the Tsars and the country becoming communist Soviet Union. The Ottoman Empire and Austria-Hungary was broken up into various nations, while many other nations were completely wiped off the map, or their borders changed.
By the time World War II, which was fought between 1939 and 1945, ended, it also saw the decline of Western Europe as being a preeminent world power. Europe was divided into two blocs, the Eastern bloc comprising communist countries and the Western democracies, divided by the so-called 'iron curtain' and thus saw the emergence of the new superpowers of the world, the Soviet Union and the United States, which were locked in a Cold War that lasted for 50 years, centering on nuclear weapon proliferation.
Simultaneously, with steady decolonization taking place, most of the colonies of Europe in Africa and Asia started becoming independent. Then, later, during the 1980s saw the solidarity movement taking place in Poland and Mikhail Gorbachev bringing about sweeping reforms in the Soviet Union, which lead to the Cold War ending and the Eastern bloc collapsing. In 1989, the Berlin Wall was broken down and Germany reunited, with the countries of Eastern Europe having their borders redrawn once again.
The years after World War II also saw the move towards the integration of Europe. The European Economic Community, or EEC, was established in 1957, when six Western European countries signed the Treaty of Rome, with the aim being a common market and a unified economic policy. In 1967 saw the formation of the European Community with the combination of the Euratom, the European Coal and Steel Community and the EEC, which turned into the European Union in 1993 with the Maastricht Treaty. Post Cold War, the countries of Eastern Europe also started joining, thus increasing the EU, which now comprises 27 European countries.
Read more at Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/facts-about-europe.html
Read more at Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/facts-about-europe.html
Read more at Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/facts-about-europe.html
Read more at Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/facts-about-europe.html
Read more at Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/facts-about-europe.html
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