Monday, October 13, 2014 Mrs. Dent Chapter 4

 Greek Empire (first democracy)  Roman Empire (Catholic Church)  Vikings & United Kingdom’s Empire (parliament)  Middle Ages/Crusades (feudalism, Magna Carta, take back Holy Land)  Renaissance (art, inventions, discoveries)  Protestant Reformation (Martin Luther)  French Revolution (Napoleon)

 More than any other region in the world, Europe has shaped the human geography of the modern world.  Before the late 15 th century, Europe played a minor role.  Age of Discovery – 15 th Century – sailors, missionaries, traders, soldiers, colonists entered the world scene.

 European ways were considered “superior” to others  They wanted to bring the rest of the world under their control  European homelands wanted economic benefits  By the 19 th century, Europe was economically dominant and exercised great influence on other cultures around the world.

 15 th Century – Portuguese to western Africa and rounded Cape of Good Hope (S. Africa) to open way eastward into Indian Ocean  15 th Century – Spanish to North America – guess who? Christopher Columbus…  Built frameworks of European colonization in Americas, Africa, Asia, and Pacific

 1700s – Western Europe had economic capital necessary for experimentation, innovation, and risk ($ from gold and slavery since 1400s)  Also significant improvements in agricultural productivity – new tools and more intensive and sustainable use of farmland - Crop yields increased and human populations grew, too  As populations grew, more people – greater pool of talent and more labor – city size increased  Industrial Revolution caused mines and plantations in faraway places (Africa, Asia) to fuel economic growth in Europe

 European powers used land differently during Industrial Revolution  Settler Colonization – Europeans sought to create new Europes or “neo-Europes” in lands similar to own temperate mid-latitude zones with moderate rainfall and rich soils so they could raise cattle and wheat – thus you have Canada, US, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand being colonized  These countries are some of the wealthier regions and countries of the world even today

 In contrast…tropical regions were viewed as sources of raw materials and markets for manufactured goods – environment was too different to make settlement “attractive” – India, SE Asia, Caribbean, Latin America, West Africa, etc.  Mercantile Colonialism – Europeans didn’t really inhabit these places but conquered these colonies to oversee indigenous people and slaves as they produced unfinished products  Colonies provided raw materials to the ruling country in return for finished goods – i.e. India had to purchase clothes from England from the raw cotton they harvested in India…

 Neocolonialism is the perpetuation of a colonial economic pattern in which developing countries export raw materials to, and buy finished goods/ products from, developed countries.  This relationship is obviously more profitable for the developed countries

 By the 20 th Century, Europe’s dominance began unraveling  WWI  WWII  Both world wars fought mainly on European soil  Loss of colonies around the world  However, Europe today in the 21 st Century continues to be an important and wealthy region  Has moved into a postindustrial economy (like the U.S.)