Beekes has located toponyms related to that of Europa in the territory of ancient Greece, and localities such as that of Europos in ancient Macedonia. An alternative view is that of Robert Beekes, who has argued in favour of a Pre-Indo-European origin for the name, explaining that a derivation from eurus would yield a different toponym than Europa. Broad has been an epithet of Earth herself in the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European religion and the poetry devoted to it. ὠπός, ōpós) 'eye, face, countenance', hence their composite Eurṓpē would mean 'wide-gazing' or 'broad of aspect'. One view is that her name derives from the Ancient Greek elements εὐρύς ( eurús) 'wide, broad', and ὤψ ( ōps, gen. In classical Greek mythology, Europa ( Ancient Greek: Εὐρώπη, Eurṓpē) was a Phoenician princess. There exists a political movement favouring the evolution of the European Union into a single federation encompassing much of the continent.įirst map of the world according to Anaximander (6th century BCE) The currency of most countries of the European Union, the euro, is the most commonly used among Europeans and the EU's Schengen Area abolishes border and immigration controls between most of its member states, and some non-member states. The EU originated in Western Europe but has been expanding eastward since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Further European integration by some states led to the formation of the European Union (EU), a separate political entity that lies between a confederation and a federation. In 1949, the Council of Europe was founded with the idea of unifying Europe to achieve common goals and prevent future wars. During the Cold War, Europe was divided along the Iron Curtain between NATO in the West and the Warsaw Pact in the East, until the Revolutions of 1989, Fall of the Berlin Wall and the Dissolution of the Soviet Union. Both world wars took place for the most part in Europe, contributing to a decline in Western European dominance in world affairs by the mid-20th century as the Soviet Union and the United States took prominence. The Industrial Revolution, which began in Great Britain at the end of the 18th century, gave rise to radical economic, cultural and social change in Western Europe and eventually the wider world. The Age of Enlightenment, the subsequent French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars shaped the continent culturally, politically and economically from the end of the 17th century until the first half of the 19th century. Between the 16th and 20th centuries, European powers colonised at various times the Americas, almost all of Africa and Oceania, and the majority of Asia. Since the Age of Discovery, started by Spain and Portugal, Europe played a predominant role in global affairs. Renaissance humanism, exploration, art, and science led to the modern era. The fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 CE and the related Migration Period marked the end of Europe's ancient history, and the beginning of the Middle Ages. Further from the sea, seasonal differences are more noticeable than close to the coast.Įuropean culture is the root of Western civilisation, which traces its lineage back to ancient Greece and ancient Rome. The European climate is largely affected by warm Atlantic currents that temper winters and summers on much of the continent, even at latitudes along which the climate in Asia and North America is severe. Europe had a total population of about 745 million (about 10% of the world population) in 2021. Politically, Europe is divided into about fifty sovereign states, of which Russia is the largest and most populous, spanning 39% of the continent and comprising 15% of its population. Įurope covers about 10.18 million km 2 (3.93 million sq mi), or 2% of Earth's surface (6.8% of land area), making it the second-smallest continent (using the seven-continent model). Europe is commonly considered to be separated from Asia by the watershed of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Greater Caucasus, the Black Sea and the waterways of the Turkish Straits. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east. It shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with both Africa and Asia. ^ "Europe" as defined by the International Monetary Fund.Įurope is a continent comprising the westernmost peninsulas of Eurasia, located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. Istanbul is a transcontinental city which straddles both Asia and Europe. ^ Figures include only European portions of transcontinental countries.
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