Neanderthal?s settled Europe long before the emergence of modern humans, Homo sapiens. The earliest appearance of modern people in Europe has been dated to 35,000 B.C. Evidence of permanent settlement dates from 7,000 B.C.
The first well-known civilization in Europe was that of the Minoans? and Achaeans in Greece. Around the same time, the Celts spread over most of the interior as far as Spain and later Turkey. As they did not practice a written language, knowledge of them is piecemeal. The Romans encountered them and recorded a great deal about them; these records and the results of archaeological digs form our primary understanding of this extremely influential culture. The Celts posed a formidable, if disorganized, competition to the Roman Empire, that had colonized and conquered much of the southern portion of Europe.
At the end of the Bronze Age the older Greek kingdoms collapsed and a brilliant new civilization grew up in their place. The Hellenic civilization took the form of a collection of city-states, many having vastly differing types of government and cultures, including what are more or less unprecendented developments in various governmental forms, philosophy, science, politics, sports, theater and music.
The campaigns of Alexander the Great brought Greek culture into contact with the older learnings of Persia, Egypt, and India, opening up a new period of developments. Much of this learning was assimilated by the nascent Roman Empire as it expanded outward from Italy, taking advantage of its enemies' inability to unite. First governed by kings, then a senatorial republic, Rome finally became an empire under Julius Caesar and his authoritarian? successors.
Europe emerged as the site of a distinct civilization after the fall of the Roman Empire (c. 400-500 AD), separated from the rest of the Mediterranean by the Byzantine and Islamic cultures. Huge amounts of technology and learning were lost, and people returned to local agrarian communities.
The first substantial new development was the appearance of the Holy Roman Empire around 800 AD. The subsequent period saw the growth of feudalism and the development of the Roman Catholic Church as a major power; the first signs of new learning began to appear. By the end of the Middle Ages, powerful nation-states had appeared and began conquering wide portions of the world. These states were constantly in a state of political flux and wars of politics and religion followed.
One of the largest catastrophes to have hit Europe was the Black Death. There were numerous incidences, but the most severe in the mid-1300s is estimated to have killed a third of Europe's population.
Thirty Years War ...
Invention of the printing press ... History of Science and Technology ... Industrial Revolution ...
Art, philosophy, science and technology developed rapidly during the Renaissance. The dominant Christian Roman Catholic Church underwent a schism during the Reformation?, which was to have major political, social and cultural implications for Europe. The split between catholicism and protestantism was particularly pronounced in England where the reigning King, Henry VIII, severed ties with Rome and proclaimed himself head of the church.
Colonial expansion by the major European powers between the 16th and 19th century saw the division of large tracts of the world amongst them. Spain took control of a great deal of South America, Britain large parts of Africa, North America, Australia, and India, France taking parts of North America and Africa, the Netherlands gaining Indonesia and islands in the Caribbean?.
During the French Revolution, a significant attempt was made to create a new form of government based on freedom and equality, but this collapsed, and led instead to the [Napoleonic Era]?. Napoleon Bonaparte also destroyed the Holy Roman Empire, leaving Germany and Italy to develop into nation-states by 1880.
The twentieth century saw the massively destructive World War I and World War II, which ended the pre-eminent position of Europe. In the wake of World War II the map of Europe was redrawn and divided as it became the principal zone of contention in the Cold War between the two newly emergent world-powers, the United States and Soviet Union.
After the end of World War II, Europe slowly began a process of politicial and economic integration, desiring to unite Europe and prevent another world war. This process resulted eventually in the development of organizations such as the EU, a process which is continuing today. See also History of the European Union.
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