1. The History of Europe in a Nutshell

2. Ancient Europe  Much of southern Europe retains some influence from the classical time period – ancient Greece and Rome  Greek city-states like Athens and Sparta began to spread over much of the Mediterranean  Athens introduced democracy to the world  War amongst the city-states led to their decline  This made it easy for the Romans to come in and take over

3. Roman Empire  They established the first republic where they elected leaders to represent the people  It became one of the biggest empires in history  Along with the spread of the Roman Empire was the spread of Christianity  The empire got too big, split into two, and then began to decline

4. The Middle Ages  The Pope, the head of the Catholic Church, became very influential in all of Europe  There was now a split in Christianity, Catholicism in the west and Eastern Orthodox in the east  Most of Europe practiced feudalism where kings gave land to nobles  The Crusades –  Wars in Middle East to try to kick out the Muslims from the Holy land  Also the bubonic plague wiped out 1/3 of Europe’s population

5. The Renaissance  With the fall of the Middle Ages brought about the rise of the Renaissance – or rebirth  This was a revival in art and learning in Europe  It was mostly focused in Italy, but will eventually spread  Some famous artists and poets were Leonardo, Michelangelo, Rachael, and Donatello

6. The Reformation  In 1517 Martin Luther demanded that the Catholic Church be corrected  Luther and his ideas will cause a split between Christians in Europe  Those protesting the Catholic Church were called protestants

7. European Exploration  During the 1400s, many European kingdoms grew very strong and wanted to expand  Navigators were sent out from places like France, Britain, and Spain and created trade routes to Africa and Asia  In 1492 Christopher Columbus accidentally found the Americas  This opened up the Columbian Exchange between the eastern and western himispheres

8. The Enlightenment  This was an intellectual movement in Europe  The scientific revolution was started by Copernicus and his idea of heliocentricity  John Locke proposed the idea of natural rights that challenged the idea of divine rights  Life, liberty, and property  These ideas will spark revolutions all over the world

9. Political Revolutions  In 1798 the people of France overthrew their king  This will leave the door open for Napoleon Bonaparte  Napoleon will go on to conquer much of Europe until he is defeated in 1815  Otto von Bismarck united the Germanic tribes into a unified Germany  The Austro-Hungarian Empire controlled most the Eastern Europe and the Balkans

10. World Wars  Most western European countries become very industrialized and began building large armies  An assassination and secret treaties result in WWI  Germany is severely punished for the war  This punishment will lead the the rise of Adolf Hitler  Part of Hitler’s plans for Europe was to exterminate all of the Jews, known as the Holocaust

11. Post WII  The Soviet Union gained control over most of Eastern Europe  These countries were forced into Communism  In 1989, communism was thrown out of the eastern European countries  The Soviet Union fell three years later  In 1993 the European Union was created

12. The EU  It was created in an attempt to prevent further wars and have a more unified Europe  Goods, services, and people can move freely to all EU countries  They now have a common currency, the euro  EU headquarters is in Brussels, Belgium

13. Pros and Cons of EU Membership Pros  Free trade with no tariffs  Free movement of people  Centralized monetary system  Sense of unity Cons  Loss of sovereignty  EU can overthrow a certain countries government  Centralized monetary system can hurt stronger nations