History of Europe 1

History of Europe

History of Europe Timeline

|

| Europe depicted by Antwerp cartographer Abraham Ortelius in 1595.

700 BC Epic poem Iliad by Homer, earliest account on the continent.

360 BC Plato attacks Athenian democracy in the Republic.

323 BC Alexander the Great dies and his Macedonian Empire fragments.

44 BC Julius Caesar is murdered. The Roman Republic drawing to a close.

27 BC Establishment of the Roman Empire under Octavian.

AD 330 Constantine makes Constantinople into his capital, a new Rome.

395 Following the death of Theodosius I, the Empire is permanently split into eastern and western halves.

527 Justinian I is crowned emperor of Byzantium.

800 Coronation of Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor.

1054 Start of the East-West Schism, which divides the Christian church for centuries.

1066 Successful Norman Invasion of England by William the Conqueror.

1095 Pope Urban II calls for the First Crusade.

1340 Black Death kills a third of Europe's population.

1337 - 1453 The Hundred Years War

1453 Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks.

1492 Christopher Columbus lands in the New World.

1497 Vasco da Gama departs to India starting direct trade with Asia.

1498 Leonardo da Vinci paints The Last Supper in Milan, as the Renaissance flourishes.

1517 Martin Luther nails his demands for Reformation to the door of the church in Wittenberg.

1648 The Peace of Westphalia ends the Thirty Years' War.

1707 The United Kingdom of Great Britain is formed by the union of England and Scotland.

1789 The French Revolution.

1815 Following the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte the Treaty of Vienna is signed.

1860s Russia emancipates its serfs and Karl Marx completes the first volume of Das Kapital.

History of Europe 2

1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria is assassinated and World War I begins.

1945 World War II ends with Europe in ruins.

1950 The Schuman declaration begins European unity.

1989 The Berlin Wall comes down leading to the end of Communism in Europe.

2004 The European Union takes in most of the former communist east, reuniting the continent.

History of Europe describes the history of humans inhabiting the European continent since it was first populated inprehistoric times to present, with the first human settlement between 45,000 and 25,000 BC.Greco-Roman civilizations dominated Classical antiquity starting in Ancient Greece, generally considered to be theseminal culture which provided the foundation of Western civilization and immensely influential on language,politics, educational systems, philosophy, science and the arts, with the writing of the epic Iliad at around 700 BC.Those values were inherited by the Roman Republic established in 509 BC, having expanded from Italy, centered inthe Mediterranean Sea, until the Roman Empire reached its greatest extent around the year 150.After a period of civil wars, emperor Constantine I shifted the capital from Rome to the Greek town Byzantium in313, then renamed Constantinople (modern Istanbul), having legalized Christianity. In 395 the empire waspermanently split in two, with the Western Roman Empire repeatedly attacked during the migration period. Romewas sacked in 410 by the Visigoths, the first of the Germanic peoples migrating into Roman territories. With the lastWest Roman emperor removed in 476, Southeastern Europe and some parts of the Mediterranean remained under theEastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire) up to the later 6th century.As Constantinople faltered, Germanic peoples established kingdoms in western territories. The new states sharedLatin written language, lingering Roman culture and Christian religion. Much territory was brought under the rule ofthe Franks by Charlemagne, whom the pope crowned western Emperor in 800, but soon divided while Europe cameunder attack from Vikings, Muslims from North Africa, and Magyars from Hungary. By the mid-10th century thethreat had increased, although Vikings remained threatening the British Isles.In 1054 AD a schism divided Christian Church into Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy, but from 1095 aseries of religiously sanctioned military campaigns were waged by coalitions of Latin Christian Europeans, inresponse to a call from the Byzantine Empire, for help against the Muslim expansion. Spain, southern France,Lithuania and pagan regions were consolidated during this time, with the last large-scale crusade of the Middle Agesfought in 1396. Complex feudal loyalties developed and the aristocracy of new nations become very closely relatedby intermarriage. The feudal society began to break as Mongol invaded frontier areas and the Black Death pandemickilled from 30% to 60% of Europe's population.[1]

Beginning roughly in the 14th century in Florence, and later spreading through Europe with the development ofprinting press, a Renaissance of knowledge challenged traditional doctrines in science and theology, with therediscovery of classical Greek and Roman knowledge. Simultaneously Protestant Reformation under German MartinLuther questioned Papal authority. Henry VIII sundered the English Church, allying in ensuing religious warsbetween German and Spanish rulers. The Reconquista of Portugal and Spain led to a series of oceanic explorationsresulting in the age of discovery that established direct links with Africa, the Americas and Asia, while religiouswars continued to be fought in Europe,[2] which ended in 1648 with the Peace of Westphalia.European overseas expansion led to the rise of colonial empires, producing the Columbian Exchange.[3] Thecombination of resource inflows from the New World and the Industrial Revolution of Great Britain, allowed a neweconomy based on manufacturing instead of subsistence agriculture.[4] Starting in 1775, British Empire colonies inAmerica revolted to establish a representative government. Political change in continental Europe was spurred by theFrench Revolution under the motto liberté, egalité, fraternité. The ensuing French leader, Napoleon Bonaparte,conquered and enforced reforms through war up to 1815.

History of Europe 3

The period between 1815 and 1871 saw a large number of revolutionary attempts and independence wars. In Franceand the United Kingdom, socialist and trade union activity developed. The last vestiges of serfdom were abolished inRussia in 1861[5] and Balkan nations began to regain independence from the Ottoman Empire. After theFranco-Prussian War, Germany and Italy unified into nation states, and most European states had becomeconstitutional monarchies by 1871.Rivalry in a scramble for empires spread. The outbreak of the First World War was preciptated by a series ofstruggles among the Great Powers. War and poverty triggered the Russian Revolution which led to the formation ofthe communist Soviet Union. Hard conditions imposed on Germany by the Treaty of Versailles and the GreatDepression led to the rise of fascism in Germany as well as in Italy, Spain and other countries. The rise of theirredentist totalitarian regime Nazi Germany led to a Second World War.Following the end of the Second World War, Europe was divided by the Iron Curtain between an Americandominated west and a Soviet dominated east. Western countries came under US protection via NATO and formedthe European Economic Community amongst themselves. The East was dominated by communist countries underthe Soviet Union's economic and military leadership. There were also a number of neutral countries in between.In the late 1980s, the Soviet Union fell and former Communist Bloc countries gained independence. The west'seconomic integration deepened and the founded the European Union which expanded to include most of theformer-communist Eastern Europe in 2004.

Prehistory

Aurochs in Paleolithic cave paintings in Lascaux,France.

Homo erectus and Neanderthals migrated from Africa to Europe beforethe emergence of modern humans. The bones of the earliest Europeansare found in Dmanisi, Georgia, dated at 1.8 million years ago.

The earliest appearance of anatomically modern people in Europe hasbeen dated to 35,000 BCE. Some locally developed transitionalcultures (Szletian in Central Europe and Châtelperronian in theSouthwest) use clearly Upper Paleolithic technologies at very earlydates and there are doubts about who were their carriers: H. sapiens,Neanderthal or the intermarried population.

Nevertheless, the definitive advance of these technologies is made bythe Aurignacian culture. The origins of this culture can be located in what is now Bulgaria (proto-Aurignacian) andHungary (first full Aurignacian). By 35,000 BC, the Aurignacian culture and its technology had extended throughmost of Europe. The last Neanderthals seem to have been forced to retreat during this process to the southern half ofthe Iberian Peninsula.

Around 24,000 BP two new technologies/cultures appeared in the southwestern region of Europe: Solutrean andGravettian. The Gravettian technology/culture has been theorized to have come with migrations of people from theMiddle East, Anatolia, and the Balkans

Around 19,000 BP, Europe witnesses the appearance of a new culture, known as Magdalenian, possibly rooted in theold Aurignacian one. This culture soon supersedes the Solutrean area and the Gravetian of Central Europe. However,in Mediterranean Iberia, Italy and Eastern Europe, epi-Gravettian cultures continue evolving locally.

History of Europe 4

Map showing the Neolithic expansions from the7th to the 5th millennium BC, including the

Cardium Culture in blue.

Around 12,500 BP, the Würm Glacial age ends. Slowly, through thefollowing millennia, temperatures and sea levels rise, changing theenvironment of prehistoric people. Nevertheless, Magdalenian culturepersists until circa 10,000 BP, when it quickly evolves into twomicrolithist cultures: Azilian, in Spain and southern France, andSauveterrian, in northern France and Central Europe.

Evidence of permanent settlement dates from the 7th millennium BCEin the Balkans. The Neolithic reached Central Europe in the 6thmillennium BCE and parts of Northern Europe in the 5th and 4thmillennium BCE. The Cucuteni-Trypillian culture 5508-2750 BCEwas the first big civilization in Europe and among the earliest in theworld. Starting from Neolithic we have the civilization of the Camunniin Valle Camonica, Italy, that left to us more than 350,000 petroglyphs, the biggest site in Europe.

Also known as the Copper Age, European Chalcolithic is a time of changes and confusion. The most relevant fact isthe infiltration and invasion of large parts of the territory by people originating from Central Asia, considered bymainstream scholars to be the original Indo-Europeans, although there are again several theories in dispute. Otherphenomena are the expansion of Megalithism and the appearance of the first significant economic stratification and,related to this, the first known monarchies in the Balkan region. The first well-known literate civilization in Europewas that of the Minoans of the island of Crete and later the Mycenaens in the adjacent parts of Greece, starting at thebeginning of the 2nd millennium BCE.Though the use of iron was known to the Aegean peoples about 1100 BCE, it didn't reach Central Europe until 800BCE, giving way to the Hallstatt culture, an Iron Age evolution of the culture of the Urn Fields. Probably asby-product of this technological peculiarity of the Indo-Europeans, soon after, they clearly consolidated theirpositions in Italy and Iberia, penetrating deep inside those peninsulas (Rome founded in 753 BCE).

History of Europe 5

Classical Antiquity

The Parthenon, an ancient Athenian Temple onthe Acropolis (hill-top city) fell to Rome in 176

BCE

The Greeks and the Romans left a legacy in Europe which is evident incurrent language, thought, law and minds. Ancient Greece was acollection of city-states, out of which the original form of democracydeveloped. Athens was the most powerful and developed city, and acradle of learning from the time of Pericles. Citizens forums debatedand legislated policy of the state, and from here arose some of the mostnotable classical philosophers, such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle,the last of whom taught Alexander the Great.

The king of the Greek kingdom of Macedon, Alexander's militarycampaigns spread Hellenistic culture and learning to the banks of theRiver Indus. But the Roman Republic, strengthened through victoryover Carthage in the Punic Wars was rising in the region. Greekwisdom passed into Roman institutions, as Athens itself was absorbedunder the banner of the Senate and People of Rome (SenatusPopulusque Romanus).

The Romans expanded from Arabia to Britannia. In 44 BCE as itapproached its height, its leader Julius Caesar was murdered onsuspicion of subverting the Republic, to become dictator. In theensuing turmoil, Octavian usurped the reins of power and bought theRoman Senate. While proclaiming the rebirth of the Republic, he hadushered in the transfer of the Roman state from a republic to an empire, the Roman Empire.

Ancient Greece

A mosaic showing Alexander the Great battlingDarius III

The Hellenic civilization took the form of a collection of city-states, orpoleis (the most important being Athens, Sparta, Thebes, Corinth, andSyracuse), having vastly differing types of government and cultures,including what are unprecedented developments in variousgovernmental forms, philosophy, science, mathematics, politics, sports,theatre and music.

Athens, the most powerful city-state, governed itself with an earlyform of direct democracy founded by Athenian noble Cleisthenes. InAthenian democracy, the citizens of Athens themselves voted onlegislation and executive bills in their own right. From here aroseSocrates, considered one of the founders of Western philosophy.[6]

Socrates also created the Socratic Method, or elenchus, a type of pedagogy used to this day in philosophicalteaching, in which a series of questions are asked not only to draw individual answers, but to encourage fundamentalinsight into the issue at hand. Due to this philosophy, Socrates was put on trial and sentenced to death for "corruptingthe youth" of Athens, as his discussions conflicted with the established religious beliefs of the time. Plato, a pupil ofSocrates and founder of the Platonic Academy, recorded this episode in his writings, and went on to develop his ownunique philosophy, Platonism.

The Hellenic city-states founded a large number of colonies on the shores of the Black Sea and the Mediterranean sea, Asia Minor, Sicily and Southern Italy in Magna Graecia, but in the 5th century BCE their eastward expansions led to retaliation from the Achaemenid Persian Empire. In the Greco-Persian Wars, the Hellenic city-states formed

History of Europe 6

an alliance and defeated the Persian Empire at the Battle of Plataea, repelling the Persian invasions.The Greeks formed the Delian League to continue fighting Persia, but Athens' position as leader of this league led toSparta forming the rival Peloponnesian League. The two leagues began the Peloponnesian War over leadership ofGreece, leaving the Peloponnesian League as the victor. Discontent with the Spartan hegemony that followed led tothe Corinthian War where an alliance led by Thebes crushed Sparta at the Battle of Leuctra.Continued Hellenic infighting made Greek city states easy prey for king Philip II of Macedon, who united all theGreek city states. The campaigns of his son Alexander the Great spread Greek culture into Persia, Egypt and India,but also favoured contact with the older learnings of those countries, opening up a new period of development,known as Hellenism. Alexander died in 323 BCE, splitting his empire into many Hellenistic civilizations.

The rise of Rome

Cicero addresses the Roman Senate to denounceCatiline's conspiracy to overthrow the Republic,

by Cesare Maccari

Much of Greek learning was assimilated by the nascent Roman state asit expanded outward from Italy, taking advantage of its enemies'inability to unite: the only challenge to Roman ascent came from thePhoenician colony of Carthage, and its defeat in the end of the 3rdcentury BCE marked the start of Roman hegemony. First governed bykings, then as a senatorial republic (the Roman Republic), Romefinally became an empire at the end of the 1st century BCE, underAugustus and his authoritarian successors.

The Roman Empire had its centre in the Mediterranean Sea, controllingall the countries on its shores; the northern border was marked by theRhine and Danube rivers. Under emperor Trajan (2nd century AD) theempire reached its maximum expansion, controlling approximately 5,900,000 km² (2,300,000 sq mi) of land surface,including Britain, Romania and parts of Mesopotamia. The empire brought peace, civilization and an efficientcentralized government to the subject territories, but in the 3rd century a series of civil wars undermined itseconomic and social strength.

In the 4th century, the emperors Diocletian and Constantine were able to slow down the process of decline bysplitting the empire into a Western and an Eastern part. Whereas Diocletian severely persecuted Christianity,Constantine declared an official end to state-sponsored persecution of Christians in 313 with the Edict of Milan, thussetting the stage for the empire to later become officially Christian in about 380 (which would cause the Church tobecome an important institution).

Decline of the Roman Empire

History of Europe 7

Map of the Roman Empire partition in 395, at thedeath of Theodosius I: the Western (red) andEastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire)

(purple).

The Roman Empire had been repeatedly attacked by invading armiesfrom Northern Europe and in 476, Rome finally fell. RomulusAugustus, the last Emperor of the Western Roman Empire surrenderedto the Germanic King Odoacer. British historian Edward Gibbonargued in The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1776) that theRomans had become decadent, they had lost civic virtue.

Gibbon said that the adoption of Christianity, meant belief in a betterlife after death, and therefore made people lazy and indifferent to thepresent. "From the eighteenth century onward", Glen W. Bowersockhas remarked,[7] "we have been obsessed with the fall: it has beenvalued as an archetype for every perceived decline, and, hence, as asymbol for our own fears." It remains one of the greatest historical

questions, and has a tradition rich in scholarly interest.

Some other notable dates are the Battle of Adrianople in 378, the death of Theodosius I in 395 (the last time theRoman Empire was politically unified), the crossing of the Rhine in 406 by Germanic tribes after the withdrawal ofthe legions in order to defend Italy against Alaric I, the death of Stilicho in 408, followed by the disintegration of thewestern legions, the death of Justinian I, the last Roman Emperor who tried to reconquer the west, in 565, and thecoming of Islam after 632. Many scholars maintain that rather than a "fall", the changes can more accurately bedescribed as a complex transformation.[8] Over time many theories have been proposed on why the Empire fell, orwhether indeed it fell at all.

Late Antiquity and Migration period

2nd to 5th century simplified migrations. See alsomap of the world in 820 A.D..

When Emperor Constantine had reconquered Rome under the bannerof the cross in 312, he soon afterwards issued the Edict of Milan in313, declaring the legality of Christianity in the Roman Empire. Inaddition, Constantine officially shifted the capital of the RomanEmpire from Rome to the Greek town of Byzantium, which herenamed Constantinople ("City of Constantine").

In 395 Theodosius I, who had made Christianity the official religion ofthe Roman Empire, would be the last emperor to preside over a unitedRoman Empire, and from thenceforth, the empire would be split intotwo halves: the Western Roman Empire centered in Ravenna, and theEastern Roman Empire (later to be referred to as the ByzantineEmpire) centered in Constantinople. The Western Roman Empire was repeatedly attacked by marauding Germanictribes (see: Migration Period), and in 476 finally fell to the Heruli chieftain Odoacer.

Roman authority in the West completely collapsed and the western provinces soon became a patchwork of Germanickingdoms. However, the city of Rome, under the guidance of the Roman Catholic Church, still remained a centre oflearning, and did much to preserve classic Roman thought in Western Europe. In the meantime, the Roman emperorin Constantinople, Justinian I, had succeeded in codifying all Roman law into the Corpus Juris Civilis (529-534).For the duration of the 6th century, the Eastern Roman Empire was embroiled in a series of deadly conflicts, firstwith the Persian Sassanid Empire (see Roman-Persian Wars), followed by the onslaught of the arising IslamicCaliphate (Rashidun and Umayyad). By 650, the provinces of Egypt, Palestine and Syria were lost to the Muslimforces, followed by Hispania and southern Italy in the 7th and 8th centuries (see Muslim conquests).In Western Europe, a political structure was emerging: in the power vacuum left in the wake of Rome's collapse, localised hierarchies were based on the bond of common people to the land on which they worked. Tithes were paid

History of Europe 8

to the lord of the land, and the lord owed duties to the regional prince. The tithes were used to pay for the state andwars.This was the feudal system, in which new princes and kings arose, the greatest of which was the Frank rulerCharlemagne. In 800, Charlemagne, reinforced by his massive territorial conquests, was crowned Emperor of theRomans (Imperator Romanorum) by Pope Leo III, effectively solidifying his power in western Europe.Charlemagne's reign marked the beginning of a new Germanic Roman Empire in the west, the Holy Roman Empire.Outside his borders, new forces were gathering. The Kievan Rus' were marking out their territory, a Great Moraviawas growing, while the Angles and the Saxons were securing their borders.

Middle Ages

526 Europe under gothic control, and 600 withByzantium at its height

The Middle Ages are commonly dated from the fall of the WesternRoman Empire (or by some scholars, before that) in the 5th century tothe beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, markedby the rise of nation-states, the division of Western Christianity in theReformation, the rise of humanism in the Italian Renaissance, and thebeginnings of European overseas expansion which allowed for theColumbian Exchange.[9]

The Middle Ages witnessed the first sustained urbanization of northernand western Europe. Many modern European states owe their originsto events unfolding in the Middle Ages; present European politicalboundaries are, in many regards, the result of the military and dynasticachievements during this tumultuous period.

Early Middle Ages

The Early Middle Ages span roughly five centuries from 500 to1000.[10] During this period, most of Europe was Christianized, and the"Dark Ages" following the fall of Rome took place. The establishmentof the Frankish Empire by the 9th century led to the CarolingianRenaissance on the continent. Europe still remained a backwatercompared to the rising Muslim world, with its vast network of caravan trade, or India with its Golden Period underthe Gupta Empire and the Pratiharas or China, at this time the world's most populous empire under the SongDynasty. By AD 1000, Constantinople had a population of about 300,000, but Rome had a mere 35,000 and Paris20,000. Islam had over a dozen major cities stretching from Córdoba, Spain, at this time the world's largest city with450,000 inhabitants, to central Asia.

History of Europe 9

A Byzantine light

Constantine I and Justinian I offering their fealtyto the Virgin Mary inside the Hagia Sophia

Many consider Emperor Constantine I (reigned 306–337) to be the first"Byzantine Emperor". It was he who moved the imperial capital in 324from Nicomedia to Byzantium, refounded as Constantinople, or NovaRoma ("New Rome").[11] The city of Rome itself had not served as thecapital since the reign of Diocletian. Some date the beginnings of theEmpire to the reign of Theodosius I (379–395) and Christianity'sofficial supplanting of the pagan Roman religion, or following hisdeath in 395, when the political division between East and Westbecame permanent. Others place it yet later in 476, when RomulusAugustulus, traditionally considered the last western Emperor, wasdeposed, thus leaving sole imperial authority with the emperor in theGreek East. Others point to the reorganization of the empire in the time of Heraclius (ca. 620) when Latin titles andusages were officially replaced with Greek versions. In any case, the changeover was gradual and by 330, whenConstantine inaugurated his new capital, the process of hellenization and increasing Christianization was alreadyunder way. The Empire is generally considered to have ended after the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turksin 1453. The Plague of Justinian was a pandemic that afflicted the Byzantine Empire, including its capitalConstantinople, in the years 541–542. It is estimated that the Plague of Justinian killed as many as 100 millionpeople across the world.[12] [13] It caused Europe's population to drop by around 50% between 541 and 700.[14] Italso may have contributed to the success of the Arab conquests.[15] [16]

Feudal Christendom

In 814 the Frankish Empire reached its peak,while Byzantium had before Islamic conquest

Pope Hadrian I asks Charlemagne, King of theFranks for assistance against invasion in 772

The Holy Roman Empire emerged around 800, as Charlemagne, kingof the Franks, was crowned by the pope as emperor. His empire basedin modern France, the Low Countries and Germany expanded intomodern Hungary, Italy, Bohemia, Lower Saxony and Spain. He and hisfather received substantial help from an alliance with the Pope, whowanted help against the Lombards. The pope was officially a vassal ofthe Byzantine Empire, but the Byzantine emperor did (could do)nothing against the Lombards.

To the east, Bulgaria was established in 681 and became the firstSlavic country. The powerful Bulgarian Empire was the main rival ofByzantium for control of the Balkans for centuries and from the 9thcentury became the cultural center of Slavic Europe. Two states, GreatMoravia and Kievan Rus', emerged among the Western and EasternSlavs respectively in the 9th century. In the late 9th and 10th centuries,northern and western Europe felt the burgeoning power and influenceof the Vikings who raided, traded, conquered and settled swiftly andefficiently with their advanced sea-going vessels such as the longships.The Hungarians pillaged mainland Europe, the Pechenegs raidedeastern Europe and the Arabs the south. In the 10th centuryindependent kingdoms were established in Central Europe, forexample, Poland and Kingdom of Hungary. Hungarians had stoppedtheir pillaging campaigns; prominent also included Croatia and Serbia

History of Europe 10

in the Balkans. The subsequent period, ending around 1000, saw the further growth of feudalism, which weakenedthe Holy Roman Empire.

High Middle Ages

In 1097, as the First Crusade to the Holy landcommences

The slumber of the Dark Ages was shaken by renewed crisis in theChurch. In 1054, a schism, an insoluble split, between the tworemaining Christian seats in Rome and Constantinople.

The High Middle Ages of the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries show arapidly increasing population of Europe, which caused great social andpolitical change from the preceding era. By 1250, the robust populationincrease greatly benefited the economy, reaching levels it would notsee again in some areas until the 19th century. From about the year1000 onwards, Western Europe saw the last of the barbarian invasionsand became more politically organized. The Vikings had settled in theBritish Isles, France and elsewhere, whilst Norse Christian kingdomswere developing in their Scandinavian homelands. The Magyars hadceased their expansion in the 10th century, and by the year 1000, the Roman Catholic Apostolic Kingdom ofHungary was recognized in central Europe. With the brief exception of the Mongol invasions, major barbarianincursions ceased.

In the 11th century, populations north of the Alps began to settle new lands, some of which had reverted towilderness after the end of the Roman Empire. In what is known as the "great clearances," vast forests and marshesof Europe were cleared and cultivated. At the same time settlements moved beyond the traditional boundaries of theFrankish Empire to new frontiers in eastern Europe, beyond the Elbe River, tripling the size of Germany in theprocess. Crusaders founded European colonies in the Levant, the majority of the Iberian Peninsula was conqueredfrom the Moors, and the Normans colonized southern Italy, all part of the major population increase and resettlementpattern.The High Middle Ages produced many different forms of intellectual, spiritual and artistic works. This age saw therise of modern nation-states in Western Europe and the ascent of the great Italian city-states. The still-powerfulRoman Church called armies from across Europe to a series of Crusades against the Seljuk Turks, who occupied theHoly Land. The rediscovery of the works of Aristotle led Thomas Aquinas and other thinkers to develop thephilosophy of Scholasticism. In architecture, many of the most notable Gothic cathedrals were built or completedduring this era.

A divided church

History of Europe 11

The Bayeux Tapestry depicts the Battle ofHastings and the events leading to it

The Great Schism between the Western and Eastern ChristianChurches was sparked in 1054 by Pope Leo IX asserting authority overthree of the seats in the Pentarchy, in Antioch, Jerusalem andAlexandria. Since the mid 8th century, the Byzantine Empire's bordershad been shrinking in the face of Islamic expansion. Antioch had beenwrested back into Byzantine control by 1045, but the resurgent powerof the Roman successors in the West claimed a right and a duty for thelost seats in Asia and Africa. Pope Leo sparked a further dispute bydefending the filioque clause in the Nicene Creed which the West hadadopted customarily. Eastern Orthodox today state that the XXVIII-thCanon of the Fourth Ecumenical Council explicitly proclaimed theequality of the Bishops of Rome and Constantinople. The Orthodox

also state that the Bishop of Rome has authority only over his own diocese and does not have any authority outsidehis diocese. There were other less significant catalysts for the Schism however, including variance over liturgical.The Schism of Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox‎ followed centuries of estrangement between Latin and Greekworlds.

Further changes were set afoot with a redivision of power in Europe. William the Conqueror, a Duke of Normandyinvaded England in 1066. The Norman Conquest was a pivotal event in English history for several reasons. Thislinked England more closely with continental Europe through the introduction of a Norman aristocracy, therebylessening Scandinavian influence. It created one of the most powerful monarchies in Europe and engendered asophisticated governmental system. Being based on an island, moreover, England was to develop a powerful navyand trade relationships that would come to constitute a vast part of the world including India, Australia, NewZealand, Canada and many key naval strategic points like Bermuda, Suez, Hong Kong and especially Gibraltar.These strategic advantages grew and were to prove decisive until after the Second World War.

Holy wars

The Siege of Antioch, from a medieval miniaturepainting, during the First Crusade.

After the East-West Schism, Western Christianity was adopted bynewly created kingdoms of Central Europe: Poland, Hungary andBohemia. The Roman Catholic Church developed as a major power,leading to conflicts between the Pope and Emperor. In 1129 AD theRoman Catholic Church established the Inquisition to make WesternEuropeans Roman Catholic by force. The Inquisition punished thosewho practised heresy (heretics) to make them repent. If they could notdo so, the penalty was death. During this time many Lords and Noblesruled the church. The Monks of Cluny worked hard to establish achurch where there were no Lords or Nobles ruling it. They succeeded.Pope Gregory VII continued the work of the monks with 2 main goals,to rid the church of control by kings and nobles and to increase thepower of the pope. The area of the Roman Catholic Church expandedenormously due to conversions of pagan kings (Scandinavia,Lithuania, Poland, Hungary), Christian reconquista of Al-Andalus, andcrusades. Most of Europe was Roman Catholic in the 15th century.

Early signs of the rebirth of civilization in western Europe began toappear in the 11th century as trade started again in Italy, leading to the

History of Europe 12

economic and cultural growth of independent city states such as Venice and Florence; at the same time, nation-statesbegan to take form in places such as France, England, Spain, and Portugal, although the process of their formation(usually marked by rivalry between the monarchy, the aristocratic feudal lords and the church) actually took severalcenturies. These new nation-states began writing in their own cultural vernaculars, instead of the traditional Latin.Notable figures of this movement would include Dante Alighieri and Christine de Pisan (born Christina da Pizzano),the former writing in Italian, and the latter although an Italian (Venice) relocated to France and wrote in French.(SeeReconquista for the latter two countries.) On the other hand, the Holy Roman Empire, essentially based in Germanyand Italy, further fragmented into a myriad of feudal principalities or small city states, whose subjection to theemperor was only formal.The 13th and 14th century, when the Mongol Empire came to power, is often called the Age of the Mongols. Mongolarmies expanded westward under the command of Batu Khan. Their western conquests included almost all of Russia(save Novgorod, which became a vassal),[17] Kipchak lands, Hungary, and Poland (Which had remained sovereignstate). Mongolian records indicate that Batu Khan was planning a complete conquest of the remaining Europeanpowers, beginning with a winter attack on Austria, Italy and Germany, when he was recalled to Mongolia upon thedeath of Great Khan Ögedei. Most historians believe only his death prevented the complete conquest of Europe. InRussia, the Mongols of the Golden Horde ruled for almost 250 years.

Late Middle Ages

Europe in 1400

Europe in 1477

The Late Middle Ages span the 14th and 15th centuries. Around 1300,centuries of European prosperity and growth came to a halt. A series offamines and plagues, such as the Great Famine of 1315–1317 and theBlack Death, reduced the population by as much as half according tosome estimates. Along with depopulation came social unrest andendemic warfare. France and England experienced serious peasantrisings: the Jacquerie, the Peasants' Revolt, and the Hundred Years'War. To add to the many problems of the period, the unity of theCatholic Church was shattered by the Great Schism. Collectively theseevents are sometimes called the Crisis of the Late Middle Ages.[18]

Despite these crises, the 14th century was also a time of great progresswithin the arts and sciences. A renewed interest in ancient Greek andRoman texts led to what has later been termed the Italian Renaissance.Toward the end of the period, an era of discovery began. The growth ofthe Ottoman Empire, culminating in the fall of Constantinople in 1453,cut off trading possibilities with the east. Europeans were forced todiscover new trading routes, as happened with Columbus’s travel to theAmericas in 1492, and Vasco da Gama’s circumnavigation of India andAfrica in 1498.

History of Europe 13

Monks infected with plague given a priest'sblessing

One of the largest catastrophes to have hit Europe was the BlackDeath. There were numerous outbreaks, but the most severe was in themid-14th century and is estimated to have killed a third of Europe'spopulation.

Beginning in the 14th century, the Baltic Sea became one of the mostimportant trade routes. The Hanseatic League, an alliance of tradingcities, facilitated the absorption of vast areas of Poland, Lithuania andother Baltic countries into the economy of Europe. This fed the growthof powerful states in Eastern Europe including Lithuania, Poland,Hungary, Bohemia, and Muscovy. The conventional end of the MiddleAges is usually associated with the fall of the city Constantinople andof the Byzantine Empire to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. The Turksmade the city the capital of their Ottoman Empire, which lasted until1922 and included Egypt, Syria and most of the Balkans. The Ottomanwars in Europe, also sometimes referred as the Turkish wars, marked

an essential part of the history of southeastern Europe.

• Hanseatic League, Marco Polo, Lex Mercatoria, History of trade• Western Schism (1378–1417)• Hundred Years War, Joan of Arc

Early Modern Europe

Europe in 1519

The Early Modern period spans the centuries between the Middle Ages and theIndustrial Revolution, roughly from 1500 to 1800, or from the discovery of theNew World in 1492 to the French Revolution in 1789. The period ischaracterized by the rise to importance of science and increasingly rapidtechnological progress, secularized civic politics and the nation state. Capitalisteconomies began their rise, beginning in northern Italian republics such asGenoa. The early modern period also saw the rise and dominance of theeconomic theory of mercantilism. As such, the early modern period representsthe decline and eventual disappearance, in much of the European sphere, offeudalism, serfdom and the power of the Catholic Church. The period includes the Protestant Reformation, thedisastrous Thirty Years' War, the European colonization of the Americas and the European witch-hunts.

Renaissance

The Renaissance was a cultural movement that profoundly affected European intellectual life in the early modernperiod. Beginning in Italy, and spreading to the north and west during a cultural lag of some two and a half centuries,its influence affected literature, philosophy, art, politics, science, history, religion, and other aspects of intellectualenquiry.

The Italian Petrarch (Francesco di Petracco), deemed the first full-blooded Humanist, wrote in the 1330s: "I am alivenow, yet I would rather have been

History of Europe 14

Europa regina, 1570 print bySebastian Munster of Basel.

Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Mandepicts his vision for the perfectly

proportioned man.

born in another time." He was enthusiastic about Greek and Roman antiquity. Inthe 15th and 16th centuries the continuing enthusiasm for the ancients wasreinforced by the feeling that the inherited culture was dissolving and here was astorehouse of ideas and attitudes with which to rebuild. Matteo Palmieri wrote inthe 1430s: "Now indeed may every thoughtful spirit thank god that it has beenpermitted to him to be born in a new age." The renaissance was born: a new agewhere learning was very important.

The Renaissance was inspired by the growth in study of Latin and Greek textsand the admiration of the Greco-Roman era as a golden age. This prompted manyartists and writers to begin drawing from Roman and Greek examples for theirworks, but there was also much innovation in this period, especially bymulti-faceted artists such as Leonardo da Vinci. Many Roman and Greek textswere already in existence in the European Middle Ages. The monks had copiedand recopied the old texts and housed them for a millennium, but they hadregarded them in another light. Many more flowed in with the migration ofGreek scholars and texts to Italy following the Fall of Constantinople while otherGreek and Roman texts came from Islamic sources, who had inherited theancient Greek and Roman texts and knowledge through conquest, evenattempting to improve upon some of them. With the usual pride of advancedthinkers, the Humanists saw their repossession of a great past as aRenaissance—a rebirth of civilization itself.

Important political precedents were also set in this period. Niccolò Machiavelli'spolitical writing in The Prince influenced later absolutism and real-politik. Alsoimportant were the many patrons who ruled states and used the artistry of theRenaissance as a sign of their power.

In all, the Renaissance could be viewed as an attempt by intellectuals to studyand improve the secular and worldly, both through the revival of ideas fromantiquity, and through novel approaches to thought—the immediate past beingtoo "Gothic" in language, thought and sensibility.

Reformation

The Ninety-Five Theses of German monk MartinLuther which broke Papal autocracy

During this period corruption in the Catholic Church led to a sharpbacklash in the Protestant Reformation. It gained many followersespecially among princes and kings seeking a stronger state by endingthe influence of the Catholic Church. Figures other than Martin Lutherbegan to emerge as well like John Calvin whose Calvinism hadinfluence in many countries and King Henry VIII of England whobroke away from the Catholic Church in England and set up theAnglican Church (contrary to popular belief, this is only half true; hisdaughter Queen Elizabeth finished the organization of the church).

History of Europe 15

These religious divisions brought on a wave of wars inspired and driven by religion but also by the ambitiousmonarchs in Western Europe who were becoming more centralized and powerful.The Protestant Reformation also led to a strong reform movement in the Catholic Church called theCounter-Reformation, which aimed to reduce corruption as well as to improve and strengthen Catholic Dogma. Animportant group in the Catholic Church who emerged from this movement were the Jesuits who helped keep EasternEurope within the Catholic fold. Still, the Catholic Church was somewhat weakened by the Reformation, portions ofEurope were no longer under its sway and kings in the remaining Catholic countries began to take control of theChurch institutions within their kingdoms.Unlike Western Europe, the countries of Central Europe, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Hungary, weremore tolerant. While still enforcing the predominance of Catholicism they continued to allow the large religiousminorities to maintain their faiths. Central Europe became divided between Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox andJews. Another important development in this period was the growth of pan-European sentiments. Eméric Crucé(1623) came up with the idea of the European Council, intended to end wars in Europe; attempts to create lastingpeace were no success, although all European countries (except the Russian and Ottoman Empires, regarded asforeign) agreed to make peace in 1518 at the Treaty of London. Many wars broke out again in a few years. TheReformation also made European peace impossible for many centuries.Another development was the idea of European superiority. The ideal of civilization was taken over from the ancientGreeks and Romans: discipline, education and living in the city were required to make people civilized; Europeansand non-Europeans were judged for their civility, and Europe regarded itself as superior to other continents. Therewas a movement by some such as Montaigne that regarded the non-Europeans as a better, more natural and primitivepeople. Post services were founded all over Europe, which allowed a humanistic interconnected network ofintellectuals across Europe, despite religious divisions. However, the Roman Catholic Church banned many leadingscientific works; this led to an intellectual advantage for Protestant countries, where the banning of books wasregionally organized. Francis Bacon and other advocates of science tried to create unity in Europe by focusing on theunity in nature.1 In the 15th century, at the end of the Middle Ages, powerful sovereign states were appearing, builtby the New Monarchs who were centralizing power in France, England, and Spain. On the other hand the Parliamentin the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth grew in power, taking legislative rights from the Polish king. The new statepower was contested by parliaments in other countries especially England. New kinds of states emerged which werecooperations between territorial rulers, cities, farmer republics and knights.

Exploration and Conquest

Cantino planisphere, 1502, earliest chart showingexplorations by Gama, Columbus and Cabral

The numerous wars did not prevent European states from exploringand conquering wide portions of the world, from Africa to Asia and thenewly discovered Americas. In the 15th century, Portugal led the wayin geographical exploration along the coast of Africa in search for amaritime route to India, followed by Spain in the early 16th century,dividing their exploration of world according to the Treaty ofTordesillas of 1494.[19] They were the first states to set up colonies inAmerica and trading posts (factories) along the shores of Africa andAsia, establishing the first direct European diplomatic contacts with

Southeast Asian states in 1511, China in 1513 and Japan in 1542. In 1552, Russian tsar Ivan the Terrible conqueredtwo major Tatar khanates, Kazan and Astrakhan, and the Yermak's voyage of 1580 led to the annexation of Siberiainto Russia. Oceanic explorations were soon followed by France, England and the Netherlands, who explored thePortuguese and Spanish trade routes into the Pacific Ocean, reaching Australia in 1606[20] and New Zealand in 1642.

Colonial expansion continued in the following centuries (with some setbacks, such as successful wars of independence in the British American colonies and then later Mexico, Brazil, and others surrounding the Napoleonic

History of Europe 16

Wars). Spain had control of part of North America and a great deal of Central America and South America, theCaribbean and the Philippines; Britain took the whole of Australia and New Zealand, most of India, and large partsof Africa and North America; France held parts of Canada and India (nearly all of which was lost to Britain in 1763),Indochina, large parts of Africa and Caribbean islands; the Netherlands gained the East Indies (now Indonesia) andislands in the Caribbean; Portugal obtained Brazil and several territories in Africa and Asia; and later, powers suchas Germany, Belgium, Italy and Russia acquired further colonies.This expansion helped the economy of the countries owning them. Trade flourished, because of the minor stability ofthe empires. By the late 16th century American silver accounted for one-fifth of the Spain's total budget.[21] TheEuropean countries fought wars that were largely paid for by the money coming in from the colonies. Nevertheless,the profits of the slave trade and of plantations of the West Indies, then the most profitable of all the British colonies,amounted to less than 5% of the British Empire's economy (but was generally more profitable) at the time of theIndustrial Revolution in the late 18th century.

Enlightenment

The Battle of Nördlingen (1634) in the ThirtyYears' War

Throughout the early part of this period, capitalism (throughMercantilism) was replacing feudalism as the principal form ofeconomic organization, at least in the western half of Europe. Theexpanding colonial frontiers resulted in a Commercial Revolution. Theperiod is noted for the rise of modern science and the application of itsfindings to technological improvements, which culminated in theIndustrial Revolution. Iberian (Spain and Portugal) exploits of the NewWorld, which started with Christopher Columbus's venture westwardin search of a quicker trade route to the East Indies in 1492, was soonchallenged by English and French[22] exploits in North America. New forms of trade and expanding horizons madenew forms of government, law and economics necessary.

The Reformation had profound effects on the unity of Europe. Not only were nations divided one from another bytheir religious orientation, but some states were torn apart internally by religious strife, avidly fostered by theirexternal enemies. France suffered this fate in the 16th century in the series of conflicts known as the French Wars ofReligion, which ended in the triumph of the Bourbon Dynasty. England avoided this fate for a while and settleddown under Elizabeth to a moderate Anglicanism. Much of modern day Germany was made up of numerous smallsovereign states under the theoretical framework of the Holy Roman Empire, which was further divided alonginternally drawn sectarian lines. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is notable in this time for its religiousindifference and a general immunity to the horrors of European religious strife.The Thirty Years' War was fought between 1618 and 1648, principally on the territory of today's Germany, andinvolved most of the major European powers. Beginning as a religious conflict between Protestants and Catholics inBohemia, it gradually developed into a general war involving much of Europe, for reasons not necessarily related toreligion.[23] The major impact of the war, in which mercenary armies were extensively used, was the devastation ofentire regions scavenged bare by the foraging armies. Episodes of widespread famine and disease devastated thepopulation of the German states and, to a lesser extent, the Low Countries, Bohemia and Italy, while bankruptingmany of the regional powers involved. Between one-fourth and one-third of the German population perished fromdirect military causes or from illness and starvation related to the war.[24] The war lasted for thirty years, but theconflicts that triggered it continued unresolved for a much longer time.

History of Europe 17

After the Peace of Westphalia, Europe's borderswere still stable in 1708

After the Peace of Westphalia which ended the war in favour ofnations deciding their own religious allegiance, Absolutism became thenorm of the continent, while parts of Europe experimented withconstitutions foreshadowed by the English Civil War and particularlythe Glorious Revolution. European military conflict did not cease, buthad less disruptive effects on the lives of Europeans. In the advancednorthwest, the Enlightenment gave a philosophical underpinning to thenew outlook, and the continued spread of literacy, made possible bythe printing press, created new secular forces in thought. Again, thePolish-Lithuanian Commonwealth would be an exception to this rule,

with its unique quasi-democratic Golden Freedom.

Eastern Europe was an arena of conflict for domination between Sweden, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth andthe Ottoman Empire. This period saw a gradual decline of these three powers which were eventually replaced bynew enlightened absolutist monarchies, Russia, Prussia and Austria. By the turn of the 19th century they becamenew powers, having divided Poland between them, with Sweden and Turkey having experienced substantialterritorial losses to Russia and Austria respectively. Numerous Polish Jews emigrated to Western Europe, foundingJewish communities in places where they had been expelled from during the Middle Ages.

From revolution to imperialism

In 1815 Europe's borders were resettled, its rootsshaken up by Napoleon's armies

The "long nineteenth century", from 1789 to 1914 sees the drasticsocial, political and economic changes initiated by the IndustrialRevolution, the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, andfollowing the re-organization of the political map of Europe at theCongress of Vienna in 1815, the rise of Nationalism, the rise of theRussian Empire and the peak of the British Empire, paralleled by thedecline of the Ottoman Empire. Finally, the rise of the German Empireand the Austro-Hungarian Empire initiated the course of events thatculminated in the outbreak of the First World War in 1914.

Industrial Revolution

London's chimney sky in 1870, by Gustave Doré

The Industrial Revolution was a period in the late 18th and early 19thcenturies when major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, andtransport affected socioeconomic and cultural conditions in Britain andsubsequently spread throughout Europe and North America andeventually the world, a process that continues as industrialisation. Inthe later part of the 18th century the manual labour based economy ofthe Kingdom of Great Britain began to be replaced by one dominatedby industry and the manufacture of machinery. It started with themechanisation of the textile industries, the development of iron-makingtechniques and the increased use of refined coal. Once started it spread.

History of Europe 18

Trade expansion was enabled by the introduction of canals, improved roads and railways. The introduction of steampower (fuelled primarily by coal) and powered machinery (mainly in textile manufacturing) underpinned thedramatic increases in production capacity.[25] The development of all-metal machine tools in the first two decades ofthe 19th century facilitated the manufacture of more production machines for manufacturing in other industries. Theeffects spread throughout Western Europe and North America during the 19th century, eventually affecting most ofthe world. The impact of this change on society was enormous.[26]

Political revolution

The storming of the Bastille in the FrenchRevolution of 1789

French intervention in the American Revolutionary War hadbankrupted the state. After repeated failed attempts at financial reform,Louis XVI was persuaded to convene the Estates-General, arepresentative body of the country made up of three estates: the clergy,the nobility, and the commoners. The members of the Estates-Generalassembled in the Palace of Versailles in May 1789, but the debate as towhich voting system should be used soon became an impasse. ComeJune, the third estate, joined by members of the other two, declareditself to be a National Assembly and swore an oath not to dissolve untilFrance had a constitution and created, in July, the National ConstituentAssembly. At the same time the people of Paris revolted, famouslystorming the Bastille prison on 14 July 1789.

At the time the assembly wanted to create a constitutional monarchy, and over the following two years passedvarious laws including the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, the abolition of feudalism, and afundamental change in the relationship between France and Rome. At first the king agreed with these changes andenjoyed reasonable popularity with the people, but as anti-royalism increased along with threat of foreign invasion,the king, stripped of his power, decided to flee along with his family. He was recognized and brought back to Paris.On 12 January 1793, having been convicted of treason, he was executed.

On 20 September 1792 the National Convention abolished the monarchy and declared France a republic. Due to theemergency of war the National Convention created the Committee of Public Safety, controlled by MaximilienRobespierre of the Jacobin Club, to act as the country's executive. Under Robespierre the committee initiated theReign of Terror, during which up to 40,000 people were executed in Paris, mainly nobles, and those convicted by theRevolutionary Tribunal, often on the flimsiest of evidence. Elsewhere in the country, counter-revolutionaryinsurrections were brutally suppressed. The regime was overthrown in the coup of 9 Thermidor (27 July 1794) andRobespierre was executed. The regime which followed ended the Terror and relaxed Robespierre's more extremepolicies.

The Battle of Waterloo, where Napoleon wasdefeated by the Duke of Wellington in 1815

Napoleon Bonaparte was France's most successful general in theRevolutionary wars, having conquered large parts of Italy and forcedthe Austrians to sue for peace. In 1799 he returned from Egypt and on18 Brumaire (9 November) overthrew the government, replacing itwith the Consulate, in which he was First Consul. On 2 December1804, after a failed assassination plot, he crowned himself Emperor. In1805, Napoleon planned to invade Britain, but a renewed Britishalliance with Russia and Austria (Third Coalition), forced him to turnhis attention towards the continent, while at the same time failure to

lure the superior British fleet away from the English Channel, ending in a decisive French defeat at the Battle of

History of Europe 19

Trafalgar on 21 October put an end to hopes of an invasion of Britain. On 2 December 1805, Napoleon defeated anumerically superior Austro-Russian army at Austerlitz, forcing Austria's withdrawal from the coalition (see Treatyof Pressburg) and dissolving the Holy Roman Empire. In 1806, a Fourth Coalition was set up, on 14 OctoberNapoleon defeated the Prussians at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt, marched through Germany and defeated theRussians on 14 June 1807 at Friedland, the Treaties of Tilsit divided Europe between France and Russia and createdthe Duchy of Warsaw.On 12 June 1812 Napoleon invaded Russia with a Grande Armée of nearly 700,000 troops. After the measuredvictories at Smolensk and Borodino Napoleon occupied Moscow, only to find it burned by the retreating RussianArmy, he was forced to withdraw, on the march back his army was harassed by Cossacks, and suffered disease andstarvation. Only 20,000 of his men survived the campaign. By 1813 the tide had begun to turn from Napoleon,having been defeated by a seven nation army at the Battle of Leipzig in October 1813. He was forced to abdicateafter the Six Days Campaign and the occupation of Paris, under the Treaty of Fontainebleau he was exiled to theIsland of Elba. He returned to France on 1 March 1815 (see Hundred Days), raised an army, but wascomprehensively defeated by a British and Prussian force at the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June 1815.

Nations rising

Cheering the Revolutions of 1848 in Berlin

After the defeat of revolutionary France, the other great powers tried torestore the situation which existed before 1789. In 1815 at theCongress of Vienna, the major powers of Europe managed to producea peaceful balance of power among the empires after the Napoleonicwars (despite the occurrence of internal revolutionary movements)under the Metternich system. However, their efforts were unable tostop the spread of revolutionary movements: the middle classes hadbeen deeply influenced by the ideals of democracy of the Frenchrevolution, the Industrial Revolution brought important economicaland social changes, the lower classes started to be influenced bysocialist, communist and anarchistic ideas (especially thosesummarized by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in The Communist Manifesto), and the preference of the newcapitalists became Liberalism. Further instability came from the formation of several nationalist movements (inGermany, Italy, Poland, Hungary etc.), seeking national unification and/or liberation from foreign rule. As a result,the period between 1815 and 1871 saw a large number of revolutionary attempts and independence wars. NapoleonIII, nephew of Napoleon I, returned from exile in the United Kingdom in 1848 to be elected to the Frenchparliament, and then as "Prince President" in a coup d'état elected himself Emperor, a move approved later by a largemajority of the French electorate. He helped in the unification of Italy by fighting the Austrian Empire and foughtthe Crimean War with the United Kingdom and the Ottoman Empire against Russia. His empire collapsed after anembarrassing defeat for France at the hands of Prussia in which he was captured. France then became a weakrepublic which refused to negotiate and was finished by Prussia in a few months. In Versailles, King Wilhelm I ofPrussia was proclaimed Emperor of Germany, and modern Germany was born. Even though the revolutionaries wereoften defeated, most European states had become constitutional (rather than absolute) monarchies by 1871, andGermany and Italy had developed into nation states. The 19th century also saw the British Empire emerge as theworld's first global power due in a large part to the Industrial Revolution and victory in the Napoleonic Wars.

History of Europe 20

Colonial Empires

Map indicating the territories colonized by the European powers since 1492

Colonial empires were the product of theEuropean Age of Exploration from the 15thcentury. The initial impulse behind thesedispersed maritime empires and those thatfollowed was trade, driven by the new ideasand the capitalism that grew out of theRenaissance. Agreements were also done todivide the world. Portugal began the Age ofExploration by exploring the Atlantic coastof Africa, establishing trading posts for goldand slaves during the 15th century. Spainjoined in the exploration late in the century, with Columbus's trans-Atlantic expedition in 1492, which led toestablishment of European colonisation in the Americas. In 1498, a Portuguese expedition commanded by Vasco daGama reached India by circumnavigating Africa, and initiated Portuguese trade and colonization in the East. Boththe Portuguese Empire and Spanish Empire quickly grew into the first global political and economic systems withterritories spread around the world. Subsequent major European colonial empires included the French, Dutch, andBritish empires. The latter, consolidated during the period of British maritime hegemony in the 19th century, becamethe largest empire in history because of the improved transportation technologies of the time. At its height, theBritish Empire covered a quarter of the Earth's land area and comprised a quarter of its population. By the 1860s, theRussian Empire — continued as the Soviet Union — became the largest contiguous state in the world, and thelatter's main successor, Russia, continues to be so to this day. Despite having "lost" its Soviet periphery, Russia has12 time zones, stretching slightly over half the world's longitude.

The peace would only last until the Ottoman Empire had declined enough to become a target for the others. (SeeHistory of the Balkans.) This instigated the Crimean War in 1854 and began a tenser period of minor clashes amongthe globe-spanning empires of Europe that set the stage for the First World War. It changed a third time with the endof the various wars that turned the Kingdom of Sardinia and the Kingdom of Prussia into the Italian and Germannation-states, significantly changing the balance of power in Europe. From 1870, the Bismarckian hegemony onEurope put France in a critical situation. It slowly rebuilt its relationships, seeking alliances with Russia and Britain,to control the growing power of Germany. In this way, two opposing sides formed in Europe, improving theirmilitary forces and alliances year-by-year.

World Wars and Cold War

Trenches were a striking feature of the FirstWorld War

The "short twentieth century", from 1914 to 1991, sees the First WorldWar, the Second World War and the Cold War, including the rise andfall of Nazi Germany and of the Soviet Union. These disastrous eventsspell the end of the European Colonial empires and initiatedwidespread decolonization. The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989to 1991 leaves the United States as the world's single superpower andtriggers the fall of the Iron Curtain, the reunification of Germany andan accelerated process of a European integration that is ongoing.

History of Europe 21

World WarsAfter the relative peace of most of the 19th century, the rivalry between European powers exploded in 1914, whenthe First World War started. Over 60 million European soldiers were mobilized from 1914–1918.[27] On one sidewere Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria (the Central Powers/Triple Alliance), while onthe other side stood Serbia and the Triple Entente - the loose coalition of France, the United Kingdom and Russia,which were joined by Italy in 1915, Romania in 1916 and by the United States in 1917. Despite the defeat of Russiain 1917 and the collapse of the Eastern Front (the war was one of the major causes of the Russian Revolution,leading to the formation of the communist Soviet Union), the Entente finally prevailed in the autumn of 1918.In the Treaty of Versailles (1919) the winners imposed relatively hard conditions on Germany and recognized thenew states (such as Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Austria, Yugoslavia, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania)created in central Europe out of the defunct German, Austro-Hungarian and Russian empires, supposedly out ofnational self-determination. Most of those countries engaged in local wars, the largest of them being thePolish-Soviet War (1919–1921). In the following decades, fear of communism and the Great Depression of1929-1933 led to the rise of extreme nationalist governments – sometimes loosely grouped under the category offascism – in Italy (1922), Germany (1933), Spain (after a civil war ending in 1939) and other countries such asHungary (1944), Romania (1940) and Slovakia (1939).

"Peace, Bread and Land" was therevolutionary message Bolshevik

party and Lenin's message to aRussian people, ravaged by war

After allying with Mussolini's Italy in the "Pact of Steel" and signing anon-aggression pact with the Soviet Union, the German dictator Adolf Hitlerstarted the Second World War on 1 September 1939 attacking Poland andfollowing a military build-up throughout the late 1930s. After initial successes(mainly the conquest of western Poland, much of Scandinavia, France and theBalkans before 1941) the Axis powers began to over-extend themselves in 1941.Hitler's ideological foes were the Communists in Russia but because of theGerman failure to defeat the United Kingdom and the Italian failures in NorthAfrica and the Mediterranean the Axis forces were split between garrisoningwestern Europe and Scandinavia and attacking Africa. Thus, the attack on theSoviet Union (which together with Germany had partitioned central Europe in1939-1940) was not pressed with sufficient strength. Despite initial successes,the German army was stopped close to Moscow in December 1941.

Over the next year the tide was turned and the Germans started to suffer a seriesof defeats, for example in the siege of Stalingrad and at Kursk. Meanwhile, Japan(allied to Germany and Italy since September 1940) attacked the British inSoutheast Asia and the United States in Hawaii on 7 December 1941; Germany then completed its over-extension bydeclaring war on the United States. War raged between the Axis Powers (Germany, Italy, and Japan) and the AlliedForces (British Empire, Soviet Union, and the United States). Allied Forces won in North Africa, invaded Italy in1943, and invaded occupied France in 1944. In the spring of 1945 Germany itself was invaded from the east by theSoviet Union and from the west by the other Allies respectively; Hitler committed suicide and Germany surrenderedin early May ending the war in Europe.

This period was marked also by industrialized and planned genocide. The Nazis began the systematic genocide ofover 11 million people, including the majority of the Jews of Europe and Gypsies as well as millions of Polish andSoviet Slavs. The Soviet system of forced labour, expulsions and allegedly engineered famine had a similar deathtoll. During and after the war millions of civilians were affected by forced population transfers.

History of Europe 22

Cold War

East German construction workers building theBerlin Wall, 20 November 1961

The First World War and especially the Second World War ended thepre-eminent position of western Europe. The map of Europe wasredrawn at the Yalta Conference and divided as it became the principalzone of contention in the Cold War between the two power blocs, theWestern countries and the Eastern bloc. The United States and WesternEurope (United Kingdom, France, Italy, Netherlands, West Germany,etc.) established the NATO alliance as a protection against a possibleSoviet invasion. Later, the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe (Bulgaria,Czechoslovakia, the GDR, Hungary, Poland, and Romania) establishedthe Warsaw Pact as a protection against a possible U.S. invasion.

Meanwhile, Western Europe slowly began a process of political and economic integration, desiring to unite Europeand prevent another war. This process resulted eventually in the development of organizations such as the EuropeanUnion and the Council of Europe. The Solidarność movement in the 1980s weakened the Communist government inPoland. The Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev initiated perestroika and glasnost, which weakened Soviet influence inEastern Europe. Soviet-supported governments collapsed, and by 1990 the Federal Republic of Germany hadabsorbed the GDR. In 1991 the Soviet Union itself collapsed, splitting into fifteen states, with Russia taking theSoviet Union's seat on the United Nations Security Council. The most violent breakup happened in Yugoslavia, inthe Balkans. Four (Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia) out of six Yugoslav republicsdeclared independence and for most of them a violent war ensued, in some parts lasting until 1995. In 2006Montenegro seceded and became an independent state. In the post-Cold War era, NATO and the EU have beengradually admitting most of the former members of the Warsaw Pact.

Recent history

Germans standing on top of the Berlin Wall at theBrandenburg Gate, November 1989; it wouldbegin to be torn apart in the following days.

Following the end of the Cold War, the European EconomicCommunity pushed for closer integration, cooperation in foreign andhome affairs and started to increase its membership into the neutral andformer communist countries. In 1993, the Maastricht Treatyestablished the European Union, succeeding the EEC and furtheringpolitical cooperation. The neutral countries of Austria, Finland andSweden acceded to the EU and those that didn't join were tied into theEU's economic market via the European Economic Area. Thesecountries also entered the Schengen Agreement which lifted bordercontrols between member states.[28]

Another major innovation in the Maastricht Treaty was the creation ofa single currency for most EU members. The euro was created in 1999and replaced all previous currencies in 2002. The most notable exception to the currency union was the UnitedKingdom which also did not participate in the Schengen Agreement.

However the EU's desire to work on foreign policy was undermined due to its failure to act during the Yugoslavwars and its division over whether to support the United States in the Iraq War. European NATO countries facedfrequent criticism from the United States for not spending enough on the military and for not sending enough troopsto support the NATO war in Afghanistan. Europe meanwhile decided to reap the benefits of its post-cold war peace

History of Europe 23

dividend and instead support the development of international law, for example through the International CriminalCourt.In 2004 the EU enlarged to include 10 new countries, eight developing former-communist countries (including threewhich were part of the Soviet Union itself along with Malta and the divided island of Cyprus. These would befollowed by another two former-communist countries in 2007. NATO likewise expanded to include these countries,despite protestations from Russia which was growing more assertive. Russia engaged in a number of bilateraldisputes about gas supplies with Belarus and Ukraine which endangered gas supplies to Europe. Russia also engagedin a minor war with Georgia in 2008.However, with the influx of new members in 2004 together with awarding Turkey candidate status, public opinion inthe EU turned against enlargement. This came out in part with the rejection of the European Constitution inreferenda in France and the Netherlands. The constitution's replacement, the Treaty of Lisbon, was also voted downby the Irish before they reversed their decision in 2009. This led to the period between up to 2009 being dominatedby "institutional navel gazing" by the EU and a rise in euroskepticism in some states. The Lisbon Treaty did howeverenhance the EU's capacity for foreign policy action.Opposition to Turkish membership of the EU developed parallel to an increasing unease as to how Europe deals withIslam. Al Qaeda inspired attacks in London and Madrid, together with a perception that Europe's large Muslimmajority was not integrating, contributed to a backlash in some countries. Belgium enacted a ban on the Burqa, alsopursed by France while Switzerland banned minarets. Danish publication of cartoons portraying the prophetMuhammad further damaged relations with Europe's Muslim population and the Islamic world at-large.In 2008 the EU's eurozone (those countries using the euro) entered its first recession and sparked a debate about howthe EU should respond to an economic collapse of a member. The eurozone agreed to set up a bail out mechanismand study proposals for more fiscal integration in the EU. In most recent years, it has become evident to the EU thaton the majority Greece (as well as other countries of the EU such as the UK, Portugal, Spain, Italy, and Ireland) havefallen under high amounts of debt, and because the EU does not have the exact same fiscal powers of a centralbanking system (ie the Federal Reserve or Bank of Canada), they cannot lend money directly to Greece. However,on May 3, 2010, the German parliament agreed to load 22.4 billion euros to Greece over three years, with thestipulation that Greece follow strict austerity measures in return.

See also• English and French monarchs overlap chart• Historic list of cities of Europe• History of Western civilization• Predecessors of sovereign states in Europe

External links• Maps of Europe Wikimedia Commons• An Atlas of European History Wikimedia Commons• European History Primary Sources [29] Online access to primary sources for historians

History of Europe 24

References[1] "The Great Famine (1315-1317) and the Black Death (1346-1351)" (http:/ / www. vlib. us/ medieval/ lectures/ black_death. html). Vlib.us. .

Retrieved 2010-01-31.[2] "Thirty Years War" (http:/ / www. historylearningsite. co. uk/ population_30YW. htm). Historylearningsite.co.uk. 2007-03-30. . Retrieved

2010-01-31.[3] Richard J. Mayne. "history of Europe:: The Middle Ages – Britannica Online Encyclopedia" (http:/ / www. britannica. com/ eb/

article-58260/ history-of-Europe). Britannica.com. . Retrieved 2009-04-18.[4] Steven Kreis (2006-10-11). "The Origins of the Industrial Revolution in England" (http:/ / www. historyguide. org/ intellect/ lecture17a.

html). Historyguide.org. . Retrieved 2010-01-31.[5] "Serf. A Dictionary of World History" (http:/ / www. encyclopedia. com/ doc/ 1O48-serf. html). Encyclopedia.com. . Retrieved 2010-01-31.[6] "Socrates" (http:/ / www. 1911encyclopedia. org/ Socrates_(philosopher)). 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica. 1911. . Retrieved 2008-03-04.[7] Bowersock, "The Vanishing Paradigm of the Fall of Rome" Bulletin of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 49.8 (May 1996:29-43) p.

31.[8] Hunt, Lynn; Thomas R. Martin, Barbara H. Rosenwein, R. Po-chia Hsia, Bonnie G. Smith (2001). The Making of the West, Peoples and

Cultures, Volume A: To 1500. Bedford / St. Martins. p. 256. ISBN 0-312-18365-8. OCLC 229955165 45837131.[9] Encyclopædia Britannica. "history of Europe:: The Middle Ages – Britannica Online Encyclopedia" (http:/ / www. britannica. com/ eb/

article-58260/ history-of-Europe). Britannica.com. . Retrieved 2010-01-31.[10] Events used to mark the period's beginning include the sack of Rome by the Goths (410), the deposition of the last western Roman Emperor

(476), the Battle of Tolbiac (496) and the Gothic War (535–552). Particular events taken to mark its end include the founding of the HolyRoman Empire by Otto I the Great (962), the Great Schism (1054) and the Norman conquest of England (1066).

[11] Fletcher, Banister, "Sir Banister Fletcher's A History of Architecture", Architectural Press; 20 edition (11 September 1996), ISBN978-0750622677, pp 172

[12] The History of the Bubonic Plague (http:/ / dpalm. med. uth. tmc. edu/ courses/ BT2003/ BTstudents2003_files\Plague2003. htm)[13] "Scientists Identify Genes Critical to Transmission of Bubonic Plague" (http:/ / web. archive. org/ web/ 20071007012619/ http:/ / www3.

niaid. nih. gov/ news/ newsreleases/ 1996/ plague. htm). .niaid.nih.gov. Archived from the original (http:/ / www3. niaid. nih. gov/ news/newsreleases/ 1996/ plague. htm) on October 7, 2007. . Retrieved 2010-01-31.

[14] Ralph R. Frerichs. "An Empire's Epidemic" (http:/ / www. ph. ucla. edu/ EPI/ bioter/ anempiresepidemic. html). Ph.ucla.edu. . Retrieved2010-01-31.

[15] "Justinian's Flea" (http:/ / www. justiniansflea. com/ events. htm). Justiniansflea.com. . Retrieved 2010-01-31.[16] "The Great Arab Conquests" (http:/ / www. iht. com/ articles/ 2008/ 01/ 04/ arts/ idbriefs5H. php). International Herald Tribune. 2009-03-29.

. Retrieved 2010-01-31.[17] The Destruction of Kiev (https:/ / tspace. library. utoronto. ca/ citd/ RussianHeritage/ 4. PEAS/ 4. L/ 12. III. 5. html)[18] Cantor, p. 480.[19] Translation of the Treaty of Tordesillas (http:/ / www. kwabs. com/ tordesillas_treaty. html) by Frances Gardiner Davenport[20] MacKnight, CC (1976). The Voyage to Marege: Macassan Trepangers in Northern Australia. Melbourne University Press.[21] "Conquest in the Americas" (http:/ / encarta. msn. com/ encyclopedia_761575057_13/ spain. html). Conquest in the Americas. .[22] and less successful Swedish and Netherland colonization attempts.[23] Thirty Years' War (http:/ / www. britannica. com/ eb/ article-9072150/ Thirty-Years-War), Encyclopædia Britannica[24] "Germany - The Thirty Years' War - The Peace of Westphalia" (http:/ / historymedren. about. com/ library/ text/ bltxtgermany16. htm).

Historymedren.about.com. 2009-11-02. . Retrieved 2010-01-31.[25] Business and Economics. Leading Issues in Economic Development, Oxford University Press US. ISBN 0-19-511589-9 Read it (http:/ /

books. google. com/ books?ie=UTF-8& vid=ISBN0195115899& id=CX9kBaVx4JkC& pg=PA98& lpg=PA98&sig=V0eO27c7koD8rrIV2EKv6-guB5s)

[26] Russell Brown, Lester. Eco-Economy, James & James / Earthscan. ISBN 1-85383-904-3 Read it (http:/ / books. google. com/books?ie=UTF-8& vid=ISBN1853839043& id=5aCyfUsHM6kC& pg=PA93& lpg=PA93& sig=1dsUat9P_-9dWWVRMpPt1udT8DQ)

[27] "The Treaty of Versailles and its Consequences" (http:/ / web. archive. org/ web/ 20080612045049/ http:/ / www. jimmyatkinson. com/papers/ versaillestreaty. html). Archived from the original (http:/ / www. jimmyatkinson. com/ papers/ versaillestreaty. html) on June 12, 2008.. Retrieved 2010-01-31.

[28] "A Europe without frontiers" (http:/ / europa. eu/ abc/ history/ 1990-1999/ index_en. htm). Europa (web portal). . Retrieved 2007-06-25.[29] http:/ / primary-sources. eui. eu/

Article Sources and Contributors 25

Article Sources and ContributorsHistory of Europe  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=387526186  Contributors: -- April, -The Bold Guy-, 0, 1.21 jigwatts, 16@r, 2007apm, 4rdi, ALE!, Aaronjhill,Abdoesjaparov, Adam Bishop, Adambiswanger1, Ahoerstemeier, Alaney2k, Alansohn, Alex S, AlexiusHoratius, Alinor, AliveFreeHappy, Amatulic, Andre Engels, Andrzej Kmicic, Andycjp,AngChenrui, Angusmclellan, Antandrus, Armundo bokan, Arnoutf, Artisol2345, Atletiker, Atoric, Atorpen, AxelBoldt, Axt, Aznosamaboy, BD2412, BadSeed, Bananaclaw, Barryob, Battem,Beefman, Beetstra, Beezhive, Ben-Zin, Berek, Bgillesp, Billybobjoe69, Blue-Haired Lawyer, BlueCaper, BlueMoonlet, Bobbaapa, Bobblehead, Bobblewik, Bobo192, Bogdangiusca, Branchc,Brandon, Brian0918, BritishWatcher, CJLL Wright, CJWilly, Calamarain, Caltas, Can't sleep, clown will eat me, CanadianLinuxUser, CanisRufus, Carl Logan, Carlaude, Casey14, Catchpole,Cautious, Chairman S., Chao, Chloh, Choess, Chordophone, ChrisCork, Chromancer, Cireshoe, Closedmouth, ClovisPt, Codenamecuckoo, Colonies Chris, Cometstyles, CommonsDelinker,Conversion script, Cornellrockey, Corporal Killigan, Cradel, Cremepuff222, Cristian paul, CrnaGora, Cun, CuteHappyBrute, Cutesybuttons, Cyde, D-Rock, D6, DVoit, DaDrought3, Daanschr,DabMachine, Daf, Dagko, Daimore, Dandrake, Daniel Pritchard, Danthemankhan, Datn, Davewild, David Stapleton, Dbachmann, DeadEyeArrow, Dearagon, Deb, December21st2012Freak,Dejvid, Delirium, Denimmonkey, Dennis Brown, Deor, Der Eberswalder, DerHexer, Deus Ex, Deville, Diatarn_iv, Didactohedron, Diogeneselcinico42, Disambiguator, Djnjwd, Dmhaglund,Doctorkc, Dougweller, Dpaajones, Dpapic, Drlp, Drunken Pirate, Dtremenak, Dublin1994, Duil mo bod, Dunneman, Dureo, Dwayne, Dúnadan, EHA SwordofOdin, EWignall, Eclecticology, EdPoor, Edward, Ehps, El C, El KG, Eleassar777, Elizard16, Elliskev, Emeraude, Energyfreezer, EoGuy, Ergative rlt, Eric Forste, Eu.stefan, Euchiasmus, Everyking, Evropaios, Exitmoose,Extraordinary, Favonian, Flauto Dolce, Fleurstigter, Flockmeal, Folantin, Foobar, Foobaz, Furryfrak, Fuzheado, Fz22, G.W., Gadfium, Gaius Cornelius, Gareth Owen, Gdr, Geofgibson,Ghewgill, Gidonb, Gilgamesh he, Givesaved, Gligan, Gnevin, Gnixon, Goodoldpolonius2, Gr8white, Graculus, Graham87, GreatGodOm, Greyhood, Grunners, Grunt, Gurch, Guy Peters,Gwguffey, HTBrooks, Hadal, Hahaandy1, Halibutt, Halidecyphon, HansHermans, Happysailor, Harland1, Harley peters, Hayden120, Herrick, High Plains Drifter, History13, Hlanefaber,Hmains, Hoshie, Hroðulf, Hu12, Hyacinth, Hydrazillawik, I didn't push her, IdahoEv, Ik1tzo, Ingolfson, Isra1337, Istvánka, Itsmejudith, Iulus Ascanius, J.delanoy, JLogan, JNM, JaGa, Jaanusele,Jade Knight, Jagged 85, Jake Wartenberg, JakeVortex, James297, JamesAM, Jamrifis, JanSuchy, Janhumpolik, Jaranda, Java7837, JavierMC, Jdforrester, Jedravent, Jeff Dahl, Jeff3000, Jeffq,Jerzy, Jfitts, JoelLimberg, Johan Magnus, Jordanp, Jossi, Joy, Joyous!, Jrleighton, Julie22193, Just Another Fat Guy, Jza84, Jztinfinity, KEncyclopediaB, KRBN, Kakonator, Kasstudent,KathrynLybarger, Kefs, Kelisi, Kelly Martin, Khoikhoi, Kibur, Kingpin13, Knowledgeum, Koavf, Koyaanis Qatsi, Kozuch, Kpalion, Kpjas, Kross, Kseferovic, LakeHMM, Lancevortex,Lankhorst, Lapinmies, Larry_Sanger, LeaveSleaves, LedgendGamer, Leolaursen, LiDaobing, Lightmouse, Lights, Ligulem, Liist, LilHelpa, Lima, Lir, Littlealien182, Llywrch, Lodoss, LordHidelan, Lord Vader, Lucius Sempronius Turpio, Lupin, Lyhana8, MECU, MK8, MaGioZal, Macy, Magister Mathematicae, Mamalala, MansuriUmar, Marsound, MartinTurner, Mathsci,Matthew Fennell, MatthieuN, Maxim, Maximus Rex, Maxman280, Maxrange, McSnath, Mclay1, Mic, Michael Hardy, Michael Zimmermann, Michalws, Midnightblueowl, Mike4ty4,MikeHydro, Mild Bill Hiccup, Miquonranger03, Mish wish, Mitsuhirato, Mjmcb1, Mlouns, Mmxx, Monsieurdl, Mr. Billion, Mrchris, Mrmanlyhood, Mrwojo, Mschel, Munci, Mushroom,Mwilso24, Myaca, Mzajac, NEW WORLD ORDER, Naddy, NatusRoma, Neightdogwiki, NerdyNSK, NeroN BG, Netkinetic, Neutrality, Nevilley, Nick Number, Nickniko, Nikodemos, Nippoo,Nixer, Nono64, Nova77, Ohnoitsjamie, Olahus, Olegwiki, Orphic, OzzieOrca, Pan narrans, Parkjunwung, Pathoschild, Paul Drye, Paul-L, Pavel Vozenilek, Pawyilee, Pconleynms, PedroPVZ,Perceval, Perique des Palottes, Peter Isotalo, Phaedriel, Pharaoh of the Wizards, Phasakdat, Phil Boswell, Philip Baird Shearer, Philip Trueman, Phoenix-wiki, Piano non troppo, Picapica, Pietro,Pinethicket, Piotrus, PoccilScript, Porosenok, Possum, Postdlf, Purpleturple, Qertis, R'n'B, R9tgokunks, RA0808, RafaelG, Ralphspikyhair, Rapomon, Red4tribe, RedWolf, Reddi, Reediewes,Reedy, Reign of Toads, Republican4freedom, Rex Germanus, Rich Farmbrough, Roke, Rorschach, Ruhrjung, Ruziklan, SDC, SE7, SJP, SPQRes, Sadoangel, Saforrest, Sallicio, Salmar, SamBlacketer, Sannse, Saravask, Sardanaphalus, Scientus, Scipio3000, Scipius, Sciurinæ, Scjessey, Sdornan, Sebbe, Serein (renamed because of SUL), Setanta747, Shadowjams, Shahab, Shanes,Sharkface217, Shell Kinney, SilkTork, SimonP, SingingDragon, Sjc, Skäpperöd, Snagari, Snowolf, SoWhy, Soresukai, Sortan, SpNeo, Spartan S58, Spartan-James, Spellmaster, SpookyMulder,SquallLeonhart ITA, Srfprice, Srirangan, Ssolbergj, StanZegel, Star-lists, StaticGull, Stbalbach, SteinbDJ, Stevenwagner, Stillnotelf, Stormie, Str1977, Stubes99, Stupid Corn, Swedish pirate,Switchercat, Symane, Synchronism, Taketa, Tankred, Tanthalas39, Tarquin, Tbhotch, Tedd, Teglsbo, Terence, TestPilot, The Fiddly Leprechaun, The Thing That Should Not Be, TheMindsEye,Theckho, Theologiae, Tiddly Tom, Tide rolls, Tim Starling, TimR, Timo Laine, Tirol, Tkharris, Tokle, Tommiks, Tommy2010, Tonywiki, Tothebarricades.tk, Tpbradbury, Travelbird, Trgiaol,Trybald, Tseno Maximov, TwoOneTwo, Tyw7, Ultimadesigns, Uxbona, Vald, Van helsing, Velho, Vorash, WGee, WJBscribe, Waerth, Waggers, Wapcaplet, Wareh, Warofdreams,Wastedgrunt36, Wavelength, Waveoftheocean, Welsh, Welshy, Wesley, West.andrew.g, Wetman, Who, WikHead, Wiki-Ed, Wikiacc, Wikidea, Wikieditor06, Wikitza, Will Beback, WojPob,Woogee, Woohookitty, Wurzeln und Flügel, Wzhao553, Xezbeth, Xhaoz, Xihix, Xmort, YEvb0, YUL89YYZ, Yak, Yamamoto Ichiro, YemeniteCamel, Yoninah, Yono, Zoe, Zoicon5, Zsero,Zsinj, Zx-man, 白袍甘道夫, 739 anonymous edits

Image Sources, Licenses and ContributorsImage:Abraham Ortelius Map of Europe.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Abraham_Ortelius_Map_of_Europe.jpg  License: unknown  Contributors:AndreasPraefcke, David Kernow, FlamarandeImage:Lascaux painting.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Lascaux_painting.jpg  License: GNU Free Documentation License  Contributors: User:Prof saxxImage:Neolithic expansion.svg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Neolithic_expansion.svg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Original uploader was Cthuljew aten.wikipediaImage:Parthenon from south.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Parthenon_from_south.jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 2.5  Contributors:User:ThermosImage:BattleofIssus333BC-mosaic-detail1.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:BattleofIssus333BC-mosaic-detail1.jpg  License: unknown  Contributors: user:RuthvenImage:Maccari-Cicero.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Maccari-Cicero.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Bibi Saint-Pol, Bjankuloski06en,CommonsDelinker, DaniusArcenus, DieBuche, Donarreiskoffer, Ecummenic, Gryffindor, Henrykus, Jonathan Groß, Jtneill, Mattes, Mechamind90, NuclearWarfare, SteerpikeFile:Partition of the Roman Empire in 395 AD.png  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Partition_of_the_Roman_Empire_in_395_AD.png  License: Public Domain Contributors: User:MandrakFile:Invasions of the Roman Empire 1.png  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Invasions_of_the_Roman_Empire_1.png  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike2.5  Contributors: User:MapMasterImage:Europe 526-600.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Europe_526-600.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: William R. Shepherd (died 1934)Image:Istanbul.Hagia Sophia075.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Istanbul.Hagia_Sophia075.jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 2.5 Contributors: User:JoJanImage:Europe 814.png  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Europe_814.png  License: Public Domain  Contributors: user:BukkiaImage:Charlemagne and Pope Adrian I.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Charlemagne_and_Pope_Adrian_I.jpg  License: unknown  Contributors: G.dallorto,Howcheng, JarlaxleArtemis, Leinad-Z, Rekishi-JAPAN, Wst, XenophonImage:First.Crusade.Map.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:First.Crusade.Map.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Alex:D, Briangotts, Dejvid, Edgar181,Electionworld, Fabartus, Flamarande, Friviere, Geagea, Jed, Joan Puigbarcell, LX, Nk, Peregrine981, Roke, Shizhao, Twthmoses, Warburg, 4 anonymous editsImage:Bayeux Tapestry WillelmDux.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Bayeux_Tapestry_WillelmDux.jpg  License: unknown  Contributors: Acoma, BeatrixBelibaste,DrKiernan, Martin H., Saforrest, Wolfmann, Wst, 1 anonymous editsImage:SiegeofAntioch.jpeg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:SiegeofAntioch.jpeg  License: unknown  Contributors: gravure by Sébastien MamerotFile:Europa 1400.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Europa_1400.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: H.KiepertFile:Europa 1477.JPG  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Europa_1477.JPG  License: Public Domain  Contributors: H.KiepertImage:Plague victims blessed by priest.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Plague_victims_blessed_by_priest.jpg  License: unknown  Contributors: DO11.10,G.dallorto, Leinad-Z, Nortonius, Shakko, 2 anonymous editsFile:Europa 1519.JPG  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Europa_1519.JPG  License: Public Domain  Contributors: H.KiepertFile:Europe As A Queen Sebastian Munster 1570.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Europe_As_A_Queen_Sebastian_Munster_1570.jpg  License: Public Domain Contributors: Sebastian MunsterImage:Da Vinci Vitruve Luc Viatour.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Da_Vinci_Vitruve_Luc_Viatour.jpg  License: unknown  Contributors: Original drawing:Photograpy:Image:95Thesen.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:95Thesen.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: 6birc, CarolSpears, Origamiemensch, ShizhaoFile:Cantino Planisphere.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Cantino_Planisphere.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Alexander.stohr, J. Patrick Fischer, Sergio,Takeaway, Wikitza, 1 anonymous edits

Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors 26

Image:Battle of Nordlingen.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Battle_of_Nordlingen.jpg  License: unknown  Contributors: Jacques CourtoisImage:Herman Moll Map of Europe.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Herman_Moll_Map_of_Europe.jpg  License: unknown  Contributors: AndreasPraefcke, DavidKernow, Flamarande, Roke, 2 anonymous editsImage:Europe1815 1905.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Europe1815_1905.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: User:Alex:DImage:Dore London.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Dore_London.jpg  License: unknown  Contributors: DieBuche, Holek, Man vyi, ShakkoImage:Prise de la Bastille.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Prise_de_la_Bastille.jpg  License: unknown  Contributors: Jean-Pierre Houël (1735-1813)Image:Sadler, Battle of Waterloo.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Sadler,_Battle_of_Waterloo.jpg  License: unknown  Contributors: Ardfern, Elcobbola, FrankSchulenburg, Get It, Hispa, Kirill Lokshin, Kjetil r, Mathae, Olivier2, Pline, Tpbradbury, 1 anonymous editsImage:Maerz1848 berlin.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Maerz1848_berlin.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: APPER, Chnodomar, Der Eberswalder,Jcornelius, Joker Island, Lotse, Schwalbe, Smooth O, Wst, 3 anonymous editsFile:Colonisation2.gif  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Colonisation2.gif  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Original uploader was Andrei nacu at en.wikipedia Laterversion(s) were uploaded by Zaparojdik at en.wikipedia.Image:trencheswwi2.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Trencheswwi2.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Itsmine, Rcbutcher, RottweilerImage:Soviet Union, Lenin (55).jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Soviet_Union,_Lenin_(55).jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Alex Bakharev, Celeron,CommonsDelinker, Esemono, EugeneZelenko, Frederico, Infrogmation, Kl833x9, Kneiphof, Maksim, Memmingen, Nicke L, Philip Baird Shearer, Red devil 666, The Deceiver, 1 anonymouseditsImage:Berlin Wall 1961-11-20.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Berlin_Wall_1961-11-20.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: National ArchivesImage:Thefalloftheberlinwall1989.JPG  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Thefalloftheberlinwall1989.JPG  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 2.5 Contributors: Unknown photographer, Reproduction by Lear 21

LicenseCreative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unportedhttp:/ / creativecommons. org/ licenses/ by-sa/ 3. 0/