Europe: history. Countries in Europe: List

The history of Europe begins with the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD. On the ruins of this largest state, the barbarian kingdoms were formed, which became the basis of modern Western European states. The history of Western Europe is conventionally divided into four stages: the Middle Ages, the New and Modern Period and the modern era.

Western European Middle Ages

In the IV-V centuries AD. The Germanic tribes began settling on the borders of the Roman Empire. The emperors attracted new settlers to the service, not knowing what fateful role they will play in the fate of their state. Gradually the Roman army was filled with descendants from foreigners who, during the period of turmoil that shook the empire, often determined the policy of sovereigns, and sometimes even took part in coups, elevating their own proteges to the throne.

This situation led to the fact that in 476 the military leader Odoakr overthrew the last Roman emperor Romulus Augustus, and on the site of the former Western Roman Empire new states of Western Europe were formed. The largest and most powerful of them was the kingdom of the Franks, which reached the power of the monarch Clovis. The peak of the heyday of the new state reached with the King of Franks Carl the Great, who in 800 took the title of Emperor. His possessions included Italian territories, part of Spain, Saxon lands. The collapse of the empire after the death of Charlemagne determined the further development of the continent.

The history of Europe in the Middle Ages is characterized by the establishment in most countries of the feudal mode of production. The monarch's power at the first stages of development was strong, but due to the strengthening of centrifugal tendencies, the states broke up into a number of independent possessions. In the 11th-12th centuries rapid development of cities began, which became the basis of capitalist production.

New time

Europe, whose history is characterized by a rapid pace of development, in the XV-XVII centuries experienced a real turn in socio-economic and political relations, primarily because of the beginning of the era of great geographical discoveries. Portugal, Spain, and after them the Netherlands and France embarked on a real race for the discovery and conquest of new territories.

In the economic sphere, in the period under review, the period of the so-called initial accumulation of capital begins, when the preconditions for an industrial revolution developed. The pioneer in machine production was England: it was in this country that the rapid development of a large industry began in the 17th century. Europe, whose history until now did not know anything of the kind, experienced intensive development of industrial production largely due to the English experience.

The Epoch of Bourgeois Revolutions

The new history of Europe at the next stage was largely determined by the replacement of feudalism with the capitalist mode of production. The consequence of this struggle was a whole series of bourgeois revolutions, which Europe experienced in the 17th-18th centuries. The history of these upheavals is closely connected with the crisis of absolutist regimes in the leading states of the continent - England and France. The establishment of unlimited power of the monarch was met with strong resistance from the third estate - the urban bourgeoisie, which demanded economic and political freedoms.

These ideas and the aspirations of the new class were reflected in the new culturological current-enlightenment, whose representatives put forward revolutionary ideas about the monarch's responsibility to the people, natural human rights, and so on. The data of theory and concept became the ideological basis for bourgeois revolutions. The first such revolution occurred in the Netherlands in the 16th century, then in England in the 17th century. The Great French Revolution of the XVIII century marked a new stage in the socio-economic and political development of Western Europe, since in its course the feudal orders were legally abolished and the republic was established.

Western European countries in the XIX century

Understanding the significance of Napoleonic wars makes it possible to reveal the general patterns by which the history developed in the century under consideration. The countries of Europe completely changed their appearance after the Vienna Congress of 1815, which defined the new borders and territory of Western European states.

On the mainland, the principle of legitimism was proclaimed, implying the need for the rule of legitimate dynasties. At the same time, the achievements of the revolutions and the Napoleonic wars did not pass without a trace for the states of Europe. Capitalist production, the creation of large-scale industry and heavy industry, brought to the arena a new class - the bourgeoisie, which from now on began to determine not only the economic, but also the political development of countries. Europe, whose history was determined by the change of socio-economic formations, entered a new path of development, which was enshrined in the revolutions in France, the Bismarck reforms in Germany, and the unification of Italy.

XX century in the history of Western Europe

The new century was marked by two terrible world wars, which again led to a change in the map of the mainland. After the end of the first war in 1918, the largest empires disintegrated, and new states were formed in their place. Military-political blocs began to take shape, which later played a decisive role in the Second World War, the main events of which unfolded on the Soviet-German front.

After its termination, Western Europe became a springboard for a capitalist camp that opposed the Soviet Union. There were created such major political entities as NATO and the Western European Union in opposition to the Warsaw Treaty Organization.

Western European countries in our time

To countries of Western Europe it is customary to include 11 states: Belgium, Austria, Great Britain, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Netherlands, Switzerland, France. However, for political reasons, Finland, Denmark, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece are also included in this list.

In the 21st century, the trend towards political and economic integration continues on the mainland. The European Union, the Schengen zone contribute to the unification of states in various fields. At the same time, in our days there are centrifugal aspirations of a number of states that want to pursue an independent policy, regardless of the decision of the European Union. The latter circumstance testifies to the growing number of serious contradictions in the European zone, which are aggravated by migration processes, which have intensified in recent times.