From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Europe is a continent, the western part of Eurasia. It is separated from Asia by a traditional eastern boundary that includes the Ural Mountains in Russia and the Bosporus in Turkey, and from Africa by the Mediterranean Sea. The Atlantic Ocean is to the west of Europe. There are about 50 countries in Europe. The European Union is made up of some of the countries in Europe.
[change] Origin of Name
Europe is named after a person in Greek mythology called Europa. She was said to have been abducted to Crete by Zeus. The name was later used for Greece. Then as the rest of the area we call Europe started to have cities and empires, the whole area West of the Ural Mountains became known by the same name.
In Europe there are different climates in different places; for example, in the north like Finland it stays snowy in the winter for 5-6 months and is about -30 degrees Celsius. However, during winter in Spain it is warmer and hardly snows, except on high mountains.
[change] European Union
At this time, much of the continent shares some rulership in a body that is above any country, called the European Union.
The history of Europe is long and has many turns. Individual specific 'eras' - this is the term meaning long amounts of specific time - can be mentioned:
- Pre-historic (Paleolithic, Mesolithic Neolithic) - 2,600,000 years ago to 5000
- Ancient Greek Civilisation (Minoan, Classical, Hellenistic) - 3000-100 BC
- Roman Civilisation
- Medieval Civilisation (early, high, late) 400 AD-1500 AD
- Early Modern Era (Renaissance, Reformation, Age of Discovery, French Revolution and Napeoleonic Wars) 1500-1800
- Industrialisation 1800-1914
- World War I - 1914-1918
- Interwar Period - 1918-1939
- World War II - 1939-1945
- Cold War - 1945-1989
- Contemporary era - 1989-2008
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