Chapter 14 NORTHERN EUROPE

British Isles Republic of Ireland  Occupies all but N part of Ireland United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland  Referred to as Great Britain or just Britain  4 political regions  England, Wales, Scotland, N Ireland  London: Capital, world financial center

History Occupied by Celts, Scots, Welsh, Irish Romans built towns Angles and Saxons Vikings built settlements Sequent occupence: process of settlement by different groups that each create own cultural landscape

British Empire Colonies around the world 1801: Ireland, Scotland and Wales into UK Powerful navy 1800s- ¼ of world was ruled by British Empire Spread English language, Christianity, British law, sports and customs U.S. independence in 1776 Commonwealth of Nations: Meet to discuss economics, business, scientific matters

Ireland 1800s Famine: widespread shortage of food - leads to hunger/starvation 1 million died Immigrants to U.S. Government: democracy Great Britain: Constitutional Monarchy  King or Queen and Parliament Ireland: Republic  President is head of state  Dublin : Capital

Religion Ireland: Roman Catholic UK: Protestant Tensions have led to violence Protestants in N. Ireland and Catholics in Ireland Irish call these problems “the troubles” Irish Catholics in N. Ireland want to be part of Ireland (discrimination), but Protestants want to remain tied to UK Violence in Belfast Terrorist groups on both sides 1998: shared government between UK and Ireland

Economy: Great Britain Industrial Revolution began in 1700s Coal and iron mining Large labor force Transportation network World’s first railroads First subway system Industry: Iron, steel, shipbuilding, textiles Dominated global trade 1900s- lost dominance Nationalized industry Government owned and operated Today: return to private ownership High-tech industry

Economy: Ireland Based on farming Economy developing Low taxes Well-educated workforce Banking, computers, electronics, food processing

Benelux Countries Belgium Netherlands Luxembourg Have all been ruled by larger powers that surround them

EU European Union: Political and economic union originally established by Benelux countries after WWII Used force rather than cooperation Formed alliances  Politically and economically  Called EEC, EC and then EU  Many countries have joined since Common currency  Euro Working towards common foreign and security policies 25 countries total Turkey and Russia would like to join, but they are not entirely within Europe Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium  NATO also located in Belgium

Land Reclamation Netherlands means “lowlands” At or below sea level Marshes and wetlands Farms, towns, industrial centers built on polders below sea level with canals to pull water away Dutch worry about floods during North Sea storms

Language Dutch in Netherlands, Northern Belgium Belgium: Dutch, French, Flemish North: Flemish-speaking Flanders South: French-speaking Waloons Luxembourg has 3 official languages German, French, Luxembourgian

Scandinavia Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland Northernmost countries in Europe Vikings Modern economies and high standard of living Culture Protestant Lutheran Languages closely related  Speakers of Danish, Swedish, Norwegian can understand each other Democratic governments Lapland Stretches across Northern Norway, Sweden, Finland  Tundra  Populated by Lapps (Sami)

Greenland and Iceland Greenland is 85% icecap, uninhabitable Territory of Denmark Iceland Greener than it’s name implies Interior is ice-covered lava rock Capital at Reykjavik Geothermal energy Volcanic activity, geysers “Greenland is covered in ice, but Iceland is very nice” -name that movie