Europe 200 CE
The Roman empire has given much of Europe two centuries of peace and prosperity.
Stone Age farming villages dot the landscape of Europe.
Europe is still inhabited by Stone Age farming peoples. Tribes speaking Indo-European languages are migrating into the continent from the east.
Bronze Age farming cultures now cover most of Europe, and in the south-east, the first European civilizations now flourish in Crete and Greece.
Major population movements in Europe have caused widespread upheaval, and the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations have vanished.
The Iron Age Celts and their relatives dominate much of Europe, whilst in the Mediterranean lands a number of brilliant city-state civilizations, most notably the Greeks, now flourish.
The Celts still dominate much of Europe, but a new power, Rome, is on the rise and is now the leading power in the western Mediterranean.
The Roman empire now rules much of Europe.
The western Roman empire has fallen to German invaders, but the eastern Roman empire remains intact.
Medieval Europe is beginning to emerge from the wreckage of the Ancient World.
Western Europe experiences internal wars and external attacks which bring widespread insecurity and lead to the rise of feudalism.
European feudalism is at its height.
The old feudal order is beginning to give way to early modern Europe, with the Italian Renaissance and the age of exploration under way.
Developments such as the Renaissance, the Reformation, and the expansion of trade and colonization throughout the world, have transformed Europe.
The foundations for worldwide scientific and military dominance are being laid in the struggles between European nations.
Europe continues to be transformed by intellectual change and industrial expansion.
Nationalism and industrialization continue to transform Europe.
European nations now rule much of the world, but their rivalries are now leading them into the First World War.
Europe has experienced two devastating world wars, and is now divided between East and West.
Most of Europe now belongs to the EU.
Subscribe for more great content – and remove ads
Civilizations
Subscribe for more great content – and remove ads
What is happening in Europe in 200CE
This map shows the history of Europe in 200 CE. The Roman empire has given 200 years of peace to a large part of Europe.
- Premium Link : The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire
Pax Romana
The Roman empire has expanded considerably over the past couple of hundred years. As well as covering Italy, Spain and Portugal, and Gaul, it now takes in Britain, all the Balkans, all of North Africa, and even reaches far into central Europe.
These centuries have seen Roman civilization reach its peak. The Roman empire has brought long-lasting peace to this vast region and its fifty-million or so inhabitants. With the peace, commerce has expanded and cities have prospered. Romanization – the spread of Roman citizenship, culture and language, has continued apace, and the descendants of Spanish and Gallic chieftains have entered the highest ranks of Roman society.
Gathering clouds
Beyond the imperial frontiers, the German peoples have been experiencing a period of major upheaval, which affects the Romans through a much increased pressure on their frontiers. Roman emperors are having to spend more and more of their time on campaign. This trend will only continue, and shortly the empire – and with it the Graeco-Roman civilization it shelters – will enter its long period of decline.
New religions
New religious cults have been spreading throughout the Roman empire from the East, including Mithraism, Manichaeism, and above all Christianity. The latter’s expansion, beginning in the Jewish homeland of Judaea, has been helped by the presence of many Jewish communities in the cities of the empire, and indeed it started life as a sect within Judaism. By this date, however, it is clearly a religion in its own right, winning converts right around the empire from Jews and non-Jews alike.
Dig Deeper:
What is happening in Europe in 3500BCE
For the past two thousand years or so, farming has slowly been spreading throughout Europe, and now covers most of the continent. People live in small village communities, mostly practicing a mixed economy of agriculture together with hunting and gathering. To the north, hunting and gathering predominate.
Dig Deeper:
Premium unit: The Origins and Spread of Farming
What is happening in Europe in 2500BCE
The previous centuries has seen nomadic peoples from the central Asian steppes, speaking Indo-European languages, coming into eastern and central Europe. Their domestication of horses has given them a military edge, and they seem to have imposed themselves upon the earlier populations as a ruling class.
Material progress has continued for the past thousand years. Long-range trade networks are becoming established throughout the continent, and linking Europe to the Middle East. Copper is coming into use, starting in southern Europe and spreading into eastern and central areas of the continent.
Dig Deeper:
What is happening in Europe in 1500BCE
This map shows what is happening in the history of Europe in 1500 BCE.
Bronze Age cultures
Over the past thousand years Europe has become coverd by a network of Bronze Age farming cultures, ruled for the most part by powerful chiefs and warrior elites. Much of eastern and central Europe is home to Indo-European speakers, ancestors of the Celts, Germans, Italians and Illyrians.
The Minoan civilization
In the south east corner of the continent, in Greece, an important development in world history has taken place. Civilization has arrived from the Middle East, with its already ancient cities and empires, by way of the Aegean. First the Minoan civilization of Crete appeared, then the Mycenaean civilization of Greece.
Dig Deeper:
Ancient Greece: history of a civilization
Premium unit: Early Civilizations
What is happening in Europe in 1000BCE
This map shows the history of Europe in 1000 BCE.
A period of turmoil
Over the past few centuries the peoples of Europe have experienced widespread disruption as the peoples of the Tumulus cultures have expanded out from their central Europe homelands, just before 1200 BCE. The train of migrations and invasions this set in motion has had a huge impact on the wider world. It probably caused the fall of the first literate civilization on the European mainland, that of the Mycenaeans, and led to the violent eruption of the “Sea Peoples” from southern Europe into Middle Eastern history.
Within Europe itself, the peoples of the old Tumulus cultures are now distributed around western, central and southern parts of the continent. Over the next few centuries they will become Celts, Germans, Slavs and Italians.
Dig Deeper:
Ancient Greece: history of a civilization
Premium unit: Early Civilizations
What is happening in Europe in 500BCE
This map shows the history of Europe in 500 BCE. The Iron Age has spread throughout the region, and has given rise to the brilliant civilization of the Ancient Greeks.
Premium Links:
Iron Age Europe
Over the last few centuries the coming of the Iron Age to Europe has led to a large growth in populations throughout the continent, as well as great advances in culture.
Civilizing influences from the Middle East began again to be felt by the peoples of south-eastern Europe in the centuries after 1000 BC. Phoenician merchants developed new trading networks across the Mediterranean Sea. They brought with them knowledge of the great civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt – and also an important new tool, alphabetic writing.
A brilliant new civilization
On the coasts and islands of the Mediterranean Sea – of Greece and the Aegean, Italy and Sicily, the southern coasts of France and Spain, and north Africa – hundreds of city-states now flourish. The driving force behind this is the colonising activities of the Greeks.
The emergence of the Classical city-state in the Mediterranean world has allowed one of the most brilliant civilizations in all human history to develop, that of ancient Greece.
Most have rejected their old tribal kings and adopted a republican style of government. They provide a fruitful environment for advances in many branches of endeavour: artistic, intellectual and political.
This form of government is now spreading to other peoples in the Mediterranean region: it is about now that the small city of Rome, in central Italy, ejects its kings and becomes a republic.
In the north
To the north, the Celts now cover western Europe from Spain in the west to Britain in the north. Peoples closely related to them, both ethnically and culturally, dominate central Europe.
Dig Deeper:
What is happening in Europe in 200BCE
The map shows the history of Europe in 200 BCE. In the eastern Mediterranean, the Greek city-states have experienced a glorious period of cultural progress, but also of intense in-fighting. In the western Mediterranean there is a new power on the rise, Rome.
Premium Links:
The Greeks
In the Mediterranean world, the huge Persian Empire made a major attempt to conquer the city-states of Greece. This the Greeks successfully resisted. Then, under the leadership of the city of Athens, they went on to register immense achievements in all fields of culture. Above all, Greek philosophers such as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle have laid many of the foundations for later Western thought.
By 200 BCE, however, powerful new kingdoms to the north and east overshadow the city-states of Greece. These large states have been carved out of the vast but short-lived empire of Alexander the Great, who led the Greeks on an astonishing series of conquests over the Persians and other peoples, as far as India.
These kingdoms are home to a new cosmopolitan civilization, a hybrid of Greek and Middle Eastern cultures which modern scholars label “Hellenistic“.
The Romans
To the west, a new power has made its appearance in history, Rome. The people of this city have expanded their power to control almost all Italy. Then, having defeated Carthage, that ancient and wealthy city on the north coast of Africa, the Romans now dominate the western Mediterranean and eastern Spain.
The Celts
In northern Europe, Celtic tribes have continued to spread out from Gaul to cover much of the continent, and have thrown out offshoots into northern Italy, the Balkans and even Asia Minor.
Dig Deeper:
Ancient Greece: history of a civilization
What is happening in Europe in 30BCE
This map shows the history of Europe in 30 BCE. The past two centuries have seen the power of Rome come to dominate western Europe and the Mediterranean; its empire now covers Italy, Spain, Gaul, parts of North Africa and Greece, and large parts of the Middle East.
Premium Links:
Civil wars and the rise of empire
A long period of repeated civil wars amongst leading Roman politicians and commanders, peace has been restored to the Roman world. This is largely the achievement of the young politician Octavian, son-in-law of the famous general, Julius Caesar. Octavian will shortly take the name Augustus, and be the first of the long succession of Roman emperors.
Graeco-Roman civilization is rapidly spreading throughout the Roman world. Along its northern frontiers the legions confront hostile German tribes. Within its borders, however, the Roman state is now among the most populous, prosperous and stable empires of ancient history.
Dig Deeper:
What is happening in Europe in 500CE
This map shows the history of Europe in 500 CE. The Roman Empire survives in the east, but the western provinces have fallen to a group of German tribes.
Premium links:
The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire
Europe in the Middle Ages (a PowerPoint bird’s eye view of a thousand years of history)
Medieval Europe I: 400 CE to 1000 CE (a more in-depth coverage of the early Middle Ages)
The Roman Empire in decline
The past three centuries have seen the Roman Empire experience many changes. The great days of ancient Rome are past, and the city of Rome itself has ceased to be the seat of political power. Emperors have spent more and more time close to the frontiers, to deal with the ever increasing threats, both from beyond the frontiers and from their own armies.
During the 4th century a dramatic transformation was set in train when the emperor Constantine (reigned 311-337) converted to Christianity. Under his successors Christianity became the official religion of the empire. Constantine also founded a new imperial capital, Constantinople.
The fall of the Roman empire in the west
During the 5th century the western provinces of the empire were overrun by German tribes. A number of Germanic kingdoms were established here, and their territories expanded to cover the entire territory of the former western empire. For a time, the whole of Western Europe was threatened by the fearsome Huns, a people from the central Asia who, under their king Attila, looked as if they might take over the whole Roman empire. In the event, however, they were defeated by a coalition of Romans and Goths (451).
Finally, in 476, the last Roman emperor in the West abdicated. This left the kingdoms of the Visigoths, the Burgundians and the Franks to divide Gaul between them, while the Visigoths and Seubi shared the Iberian Peninsula. North Africa has been occupied by another German tribe, the Vandals. Southern Britain is being settled by north German peoples who came to be known to history as the Anglo-Saxons.
By this date, even Italy, the heartand of the old Roman empire, is under barbarian rule, with the king of the Ostrogoths ruling from Ravenna, formerly the seat of the western Roman emperors.
The fall and survival of Roman civilization
Graeco-Roman civilization has taken a major hit in these former Roman provinces, and society is experiencing huge changes. The city-based way of life enjoyed by the Romans is in steep decline.
The shrunken towns are now dominated by Christian bishops, who have proved to be the only figures capable of protecting the townsmen in these turbulent times.
The Roman Empire is far from extinct. It has shrunk to its eastern half, but, governed from its capital of Constantinople, it remains powerful and prosperous. Here, Roman civilization continues to thrive, though in an altered form as it morphs into Byzantine civilization. Above all, the Christian Church has a huge influence on its society and culture.
Dig Deeper:
What is happening in Europe in 750CE
The past two and a half centuries have seen the Franks come to rule most of modern-day France and much of Germany. Their kings are active supporters of the Catholic church and its leaders, the popes (based in Rome). The Franks will shortly intervene in Italy to safeguard a pope against his enemies, the Lombards.
Premium units:
- Europe in the Middle Ages (a PowerPoint bird’s eye view of a thousand years of history)
- Medieval Europe 400 to 1000 CE (a more in-depth look at the early Middle Ages)
In these areas of western Europe, urban life and culture is mostly a thing of the past. Economic life is now largely based on huge self-contained estates (the precursors of medieval “manors”); a class of warrior land-owners dominates society. Literacy and education is almost exclusively the preserve of the Christian clergy, and Graeco-Roman learning is preserved only in monasteries.
The frontiers of Europe
Pagan tribes still inhabit central, eastern and northern Europe. England is now divided amongst a group of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, with Celtic kingdoms to their north and west. Most of these have now converted to Christianity.
Spain has been conquered by the vast Muslim Caliphate. The Christians hang on only in the mountainous north.
The Byzantine empire
To the East, the Roman empire has also been battered by Muslim armies. Other enemies, pagan tribes from central Europe, have occupied most of the Balkans.
As a result of these attacks, the Roman empire (or Byzantine empire, as modern scholars call it) is now but a fraction of its former size. Internally, Byzantine society has also changed a great deal. The great cities of the past have now all but vanished, with Constantinople the only sizeable one left. Nevertheless, Graeco-Roman culture is still cherished, and (along with Christian teaching) remains the basis for the education of the upper classes.
Dig Deeper:
What is happening in Europe in 979CE
The past two hundred years have seen the Frankish kingdom expand over much of Europe under its vigorous ruler, Charlemagne; but then, after his death, swiftly break up. The kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire (covering Germany, northern Italy and some eastern lands) have emerged from the wreckage.
Premium Links:
- Europe in the Middle Ages (a PowerPoint bird’s eye view of a thousand years of history)
- Medieval Europe 400 to 1000 CE (a more in-depth look at the early Middle Ages)
- Medieval Europe 1000 to 1450 CE (a more in-depth look at the later Middle Ages
Destructive invasions from outside – Vikings from the north, Magyars from the east and Arabs from the south – have hastened the disintegration of central power. Widespread disorder spreads across much of western Europe, in which a new feudal society is taking shape.
The rise of Feudalism
Thrown on their own resources by the weakness of the kings, local landowners build castles (at this stage of wood, later of stone), hire armed retinues (now mounted on horseback, the forebears of medieval knights), and establish almost royal power over their localities (in what would later be known as fiefs – from which the term feudalism comes form).
The nobility use this power, not only to resist invaders and brigands, but royal officials as well. Rulers are therefore forced to come to terms with them if they are to exercise any leadership at all, and the feudal system – essentially a way of co-ordinating the military capabilities of a region at a time of fragmented authority – is gradually emerging.
The expansion of Christendom
Despite the troubles of the time, Christendom (a term often applied to Medieval Europe, denoting the dominating role Christianity has in its society and culture) is continuing to expand. However, it is increasingly dividing into an eastern branch (today represented by the Orthodox Church) based on Constantinople, and a western branch (the Catholic Church), headed by the pope in Rome. Missionaries of the western Catholic Church are active in northern and central Europe, while those from Constantinople are winning eastern Europe and much of the Balkans to Orthodox Christianity.
The Christian kingdoms of northern Spain have been able to chip away at Muslim power.
The British Isles have experienced massive Viking attacks. At one time the Christian Anglo-Saxons looked as if they might be completely conquered by the pagan Vikings, but, now united into a single kingdom, they have recovered all their territory and incorporated the Vikings (now converted to Christianity) under there rule.
Dig Deeper:
What is happening in Europe in 1215CE
Medieval Europe at its height
The previous centuries have seen the rise of feudalism in western Europe. The ad-hoc arrangements by which rulers have won the support of the feudal nobility have been underpinned by a quasi-religious code of chivalry. This has been promoted by the Church and seeks to direct the warlike activities of nobles and knights towards more humane ends than might otherwise have been the case.
- Premium Link : Medieval Europe II: 1000 to 1450 CE
These centuries have also seen the western Church, headed by the popes in Rome, reach the height of its power.
Church against state
Few kingdoms in western Europe have escaped its impact. In some places (for example, France) the Church’s influence has strengthened royal power by providing religious sanctions against those who oppose it; in other places (notably Germany and Italy, both of which are wholly or partly within the Holy Roman Empire) it has gravely weakened central authority by offering religious support for rebellious nobles. In yet others (England) the clash between royal and church power has been dramatic but indecisive.
The Crusades
Despite these tensions, Christendom has continued to expand in northern, central and eastern Europe. In Spain, too, the Christian kingdoms have won considerable territory from the Muslims.
Another field for expansion for western (Catholic) Christendom has been in the Middle East. A succession of great military expeditions, called into action by the popes and known as the Crusades, initially succeeded in taking the holy city of Jerusalem from the Muslims and creating a number of Crusader states in Syria and Palestine. However, Muslim forces have now driven the Crusaders back to small coastal enclaves. In fact the Crusaders have recently turned against the historic Christian city of Constantinople, and the Byzantine empire is now under occupation by Crusader rulers and their forces.
Commercial expansion
One by-product of the Crusades, however, has been that Christian (mainly Italian) shipping has come to dominate much of the trade of the Mediterranean, and this has helped lift European commerce. So too has an increase in trade in the Baltic and North Sea.
These developments are but part of a general upswing in Europe’s economic fortunes in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries. Much new land had been brought under the plough (much heavier than any before, developed especially for the heavy soil of northern climates) and populations have expanded strongly. The feudal system has succeeded in enforcing a certain degree of order on an unruly society, and this has allowed local as well as international trade to increase. A new class of prosperous merchants are helping to turn the growing towns and cities into centres of power in their own right.
New wealth has been devoted to the construction of magnificent cathedrals and churches across Europe. Some of it is also going into the foundation of new schools and universities. Learning is returning to the region. Much of this – especially in science, mathematics and medicine – is coming into Christendom from the Muslim world.
Dig Deeper:
What is happening in Europe in 1453CE
The previous two centuries have seen Europe on the defensive. The Crusader states have completely vanished from the Middle East, a people from central Asian have conquered a huge slice of eastern Europe, and a pandemic has killed an enormous number of people. Yet the region has made huge cultural and technological strides, and is poised for extraordinary growth.
Premium Links:
The Mongol conquest of Russia in the mid-13th century effectively cut that huge territory off from the rest of Europe, and Mongol invasion of central Europe inflicted huge damage. The terrible Black Death may have killed a third of Europeans.
Wars and unrest
Warfare involving England, France and the Low Countries has endured over many decades (not for nothing is it known as the “Hundred Years’ War”). Political fragmentation has continued to affect Germany and Italy; and widespread religious unrest has disturbed much of the region, especially in central Europe. Then, in this year, 1453, the great historic city of Constantinople falls to the Muslim Turks. This is a severe psychological shock to Europeans. The Turkish (or Ottoman) empire now reaches far up into the Balkans.
These ware have seen the early use of gunpowder in warfare. The capture of Constantinople, for example, was greatly helped by the huge canon the Ottoman army deployed.
The Age of Discovery and the Italian Renaissance
To counter-balance the Muslim advance in the Balkans, at the other end of Europe, the Christian kingdoms of Spain have all but completed their conquest of Muslim territory. Portuguese sailors have begun their voyages of discovery, currently probing southward down the west coast of Africa. These will lead on to the age of European exploration and discovery, and all that would flow from that.
A cultural movement which later historians will call the “Italian Renaissance” is now under way. As well as producing beautiful new art and architecture, this will lead to a transformation of European thinking by challenging many of the basic assumptions of medieval philosophy. The first European printing presses will soon be spreading new knowledge and new ideas across the continent.
Economic expansion
All this is linked to the long-term economic growth of Europe, which started centuries before in the early Middle Ages. This received a sharp set-back in the mid-14th century as a result of natural calamities, especially the Black Death, but within a couple of generations it resumed again. Reduced populations have enjoyed greater purchasing power.
Trade has expanded, towns and cities have grown, and urban elites have gained in political clout. In France, centralised royal power has increased at the expense of local nobles, aided by the king’s cannon train that can now make short work of previously impregnable baronial castles. This development will soon spread to other countries in western Europe, to create strong, centralised nation-states. These will provide the political underpinnings for the European expansion to come.
Dig Deeper:
What is happening in Europe in 1648CE
The past two centuries have seen the Ottoman empire conquer far up into Europe. At the same time, however, explorers have opened up South and North America. to European colonization, and Africa and Asia to European trade.
- Premium Link : Early Modern Europe 1450 to 1750
Renaissance, Reformation and Counter Reformation
Meanwhile the Renaissance spread around Europe, and the great religious movements known as the Reformation and Counter Reformation convulsed the continent. These divided the Christian church into two bitterly-opposed parts, Protestantism and Roman Catholicism. Fierce wars of religion – most notably the dreadful Thirty Years War – have left Europeans divided into two hostile camps: Scandinavia, the Low Countries and Britain are Protestant, while Spain and Portugal, Italy and central Europe have remained Catholic. Germany and (to a lesser extent) France are split between the two.
By now, a new intellectual movement is discernible in Europe, partly a reaction to the religious conflicts. This is the Enlightenment, which emphasises rationality as the basis for the pursuit of truth.
Political, economic and scientific developments
Paralleling the Renaissance and the Reformation has been the rise of powerful, centralized nation-states in Europe. Despite the upheavals, this period has laid the foundations for astonishing economic expansion over the coming centuries, as well as for the rise of modern science.
Dig Deeper (free articles):
What is happening in Europe in 1789CE
The past century and a half have seen cultural and technological advance, and overseas expansion.
Premium Links:
A movement known as the Enlightenment has gathered pace. The Enlightenment’s emphasis on reason has acted as a powerful stimulus to science, as well as to new thinking on politics and society. It has had a deep influence on events across the Atlantic, where the founders of the new USA have designed an entire political system around Enlightenment principles.
European rivalry and overseas expansion
The countries of Europe have continued to wage major wars amongst themselves. France, Holland and Britain compete with each other for overseas empires, while those of Spain and Portugal are in decline. Prussia and Austria jostle for influence in Germany, and Russia‘s presence is increasingly being felt in central and northern Europe. Italy remains weak and divided, and the Ottoman empire still rules the Balkans.
Europe’s expanding overseas trade has greatly increased the continent’s wealth. By this time, indeed, the Industrial Revolution has started in Britain. This year, though, the French Revolution breaks out; this will shake the governments of Europe to their very core.
Dig Deeper (free articles):
What is happening in Europe in 1837CE
This period of European history has been dominated by Revolution and War, and then by counter-revolution; and nowl European society is changed in the most radical way it has ever experienced.
- Premium Link : Modern Europe 1750-1900
Following the French Revolution (1789), Europe experienced the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1792-1815), more than twenty years of warfare. These saw Napoleon Bonaparte attempt to impose his will on Europe, until his defeat at the battle of Waterloo in 1815.
After the wars, the victorious powers cooperated in imposing order on Europe. Russia, Prussia and Austria divided central Europe between them; Prussia and Austria shared the leadership of Germany; and Austria dominated Italy. France, although vanquished in 1815, remained a major European nation.
Industrial Revolution
Great Britain is now the leading naval power in the world. Under her protection, European (especially British) commerce now dominates the oceans. The Industrial Revolution which has been transforming Britain’s economy since the late 18th century, is now spreading to the rest of Europe.
Dig Deeper (free articles):
What is happening in Europe in 1871CE
The forces of nationalism have been at work in Europe over the past decades. They have created two major new countries, Germany and Italy. On the other hand they are threatening the stability of multi-national states, the Austrian (or Austro-Hungarian), Russian and Ottoman empires.
- Premium Link : Modern Europe 1750-1900
European society is being reshaped by the quickening pace of industrialization. By this date, Britain and Germany can properly be described as industrial nations, and other Europeans are not far behind. European domination of the rest of the world is entering a new phase, as a handful of powers, especially Britain, France and Holland – have started to use their industrialized military capacity to acquire extensive overseas territories in Africa, SE Asia and the Pacific.
Dig Deeper (free articles):
European Colonization and Empire
What is happening in Europe in 1914CE
The industrialization of Europe over the past decades has given its nations’ armed forces unmatched capability, and they have indulged in a frenzy of competition for overseas territory. Most of the world has become carved up amongst their empires. Britain and France have taken the lion’s share, but Holland, Belgium, Germany and Italy also have substantial overseas possessions. The Russian empire has pushed out its borders in central Asia.
Expansion abroad has fuelled nationalist tensions at home. This has led to mutual fear building up between the great powers of Europe, especially between Austria and Russia, both wanting to grab as much power and influence in the Balkans at the expense of a weakened Ottoman empire, and of each other. This year, 1914, sees these tensions spill over into full scale war.
Dig Deeper (free articles):
What is happening in Europe in 1960CE
The past decades have seen Europe torn apart – and its map radically redrawn – by World War 1 (1914-18) and the Treaty of Versailles, the Great Depression, the rise of Nazi Germany, World War 2 (1939-45), and now the Cold War.
An American-led Western Europe, members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO (founded in 1949). These nations include Britain, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, the Benelux countries, Norway, Denmark, Greece and Turkey. A Communist-controlled Eastern Europe covers Russia (now the Soviet Union), and the central European countries of Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Romania; and the Balkan nations of Yugoslavia and Bulgaria. All of these countries, except Yugolsavia, are members of the Russian-controlled Warsaw Pact (founded 1955).
The front line dividing Europe runs through Germany, which is now two states: West Germany and East Germany. Austria, Switzerland and Sweden remain neutral.
The USA has poured economic aid into western Europe in a programme known as the Marshall Plan, which has set the nations here on a path to recovery, and indeed to unparalleled prosperity. Overseas, the years since World War 2 have seen the withdrawal of European nations from most of their empires in Africa, India, SE Asia and the Pacific well underway. Within Europe, a group of countries – France, West Germany, Italy and the Benelux countries (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg) – have formed the Common Market.
Dig Deeper (free articles):
European Colonization and Empire
What is happening in Europe in 2005CE
The decades since 1960 have seen the collapse of communism in Europe (from 1989), the expansion of the Common Market – now called the European Union – and with it, the spread of democratic government to cover most European countries. Germany has been reunited, whilst the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia have fragmented amongst multiple nationalities. In the latter’s case, this process was accompanied by violent ethnic cleansing and a short, sharp war involving NATO (1999).
Did Deeper:
Subscribe for more great content – and remove ads
Civilizations related to Europe
1950BCE - 1400BCE Minoan civilization 1150BCE - 650BCE Phoenicians 800BCE - 50BCE Ancient Greek Civilization 800BCE - 50CE Celtic civilization 800BCE - 250BCE Etruscans 750BCE - 500CE Ancient Rome: civilization and society 500CE - 1450CE Byzantine Empire 500CE - 1450CE Medieval Europe 1350CE - 1900CE Ottoman Empire 1400CE - 1789CE Early Modern Europe 1500CE - 1960CE European World Empires 1789CE - 2000CE Modern Europe 1917CE - 2000CE The Soviet UnionSubscribe for more great content – and remove ads
What else is happening in the rest of the world...
Middle East history 200CE
One small part of the region, Judaea, has given birth to the new religion of Christianity, but has also seen the dispersal of the Jewish people from their homeland
Africa history 200CE
All of North Africa is now part of the Roman empire, while to the south the Bantu migration continues
India and South Asia history 200CE
The Kushana empire of ancient India is important to world history as a centre for the spread of Buddhism
East Asia: China, Korea, Japan history 200CE
The Han dynasty of China has dominated much of ancient East Asia for a long period of history - but not for much longer
South East Asia history 200CE
Indian-style kingdoms and principalities are appearing in South East Asia
Oceania history 200CE
Distinctive Polynesian societies are evolving on the various Pacific islands
South America history 200CE
The Moche have reached a high level of civilization
North America history 200CE
The Mayan civilization is now emerging
What else is happening in the rest of the world...
Africa history 3500BCE
Most of Africa is home to bands of hunter-gatherers, but in the Nile valley, the civilization of Egypt is beginning to emerge
Iraq history 3500BCE
The first city-based civilization in history is appearing in Mesopotamia
Middle East history 3500BCE
The first civilizations in world history, those of Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt, are emerging
Egypt history 3500BCE
One of the great civilizations of world history, that of Ancient Egypt, is taking shape in the Nile Valley.
India and South Asia history 3500BCE
In India and South Asia, the foundations are being laid for one of the great civilizations of ancient history
East Asia: China, Korea, Japan history 3500BCE
By this stage in history, farming is well-established in the two great river valleys of ancient China, and is spreading to neighboring lands
South East Asia history 3500BCE
Stone Age farmers and hunter-gatherers inhabit South East Asia
Oceania history 3500BCE
All the Pacific islands are uninhabited, except for Australia, New Guinea and the Solomons
South America history 3500BCE
Permanent villages have grown up along coasts and rivers
North America history 3500BCE
Hunter-gatherer cultures cover most of North America
What else is happening in the rest of the world...
Turkey history 2500BCE
Trade is drawing Asia Minor into the orbit of Mesopotamian civilization
Egypt history 2500BCE
By this date Ancient Egypt has developed one of the great civilizations of world history.
Africa history 2500BCE
Ancient Egypt, one of the great civilizations of world history, has now full emerged in the Nile valley
India and South Asia history 2500BCE
One of the earliest civilizations in world history has emerged in ancient India, the Indus Valley civilization
East Asia: China, Korea, Japan history 2500BCE
Agriculture is spreading out from its core areas in ancient China, and one of the greatest civilizations in world history is emerging
South East Asia history 2500BCE
At around this time, a series of major population movements begin to affect this region. Starting in southern China and Taiwan, farming and fishing communities begin to move south and west, into the coasts and islands of South East Asia. These are the ancestors of today’s Malays, Polynesians and other Austronesian peoples, and it is […]
Oceania history 2500BCE
A new phase in technology is beginning in Australia, and the migration of the ancestors of the Polynesians has begun from south China
South America history 2500BCE
Large villages are developing along the Pacific coast, with temple-mounds and irrigation systems being constructed
What else is happening in the rest of the world...
Middle East history 1500BCE
The powerful Bronze Age empires of Egypt, the Mitanni, the Hittites and Babylonia dominate the Middle East
Greece and the Balkans history 1500BCE
The first literate civilizations in European history flourish - the Minoan on Crete and the Mycenaean in Greece
Africa history 1500BCE
New heights are achieved by the ancient civilization of Egypt, while south of the Sahara farmers pioneer tropical agriculture.
India and South Asia history 1500BCE
The history of ancient India is experiencing a dark age after the fall of the great Indus Valley civilization
East Asia: China, Korea, Japan history 1500BCE
The first urban civilization has appeared in the ancient history of East Asia, under the Shang dynasty in China
South East Asia history 1500BCE
Major population movements affect this region from both east and west.
Oceania history 1500BCE
The ancestors of the Polynesians are beginning to settle the islands of the Pacific
South America history 1500BCE
The peoples of the Pacific coast are making strides towards civilization
North America history 1500BCE
Farming is spreading to eastern USA
What else is happening in the rest of the world...
Middle East history 1500BCE
The powerful Bronze Age empires of Egypt, the Mitanni, the Hittites and Babylonia dominate the Middle East
Africa history 1500BCE
New heights are achieved by the ancient civilization of Egypt, while south of the Sahara farmers pioneer tropical agriculture.
India and South Asia history 1500BCE
The history of ancient India is experiencing a dark age after the fall of the great Indus Valley civilization
East Asia: China, Korea, Japan history 1500BCE
The first urban civilization has appeared in the ancient history of East Asia, under the Shang dynasty in China
South East Asia history 1500BCE
Major population movements affect this region from both east and west.
Oceania history 1500BCE
The ancestors of the Polynesians are beginning to settle the islands of the Pacific
South America history 1500BCE
The peoples of the Pacific coast are making strides towards civilization
North America history 1500BCE
Farming is spreading to eastern USA
What else is happening in the rest of the world...
Middle East history 500BCE
A succession of great empires - the Assyrian, the Babylonian, and now the Persian - have dominated the Middle East for the past few centuries
Africa history 500BCE
Bantu farmers from West Africa are beginning to spread out across the continent
India and South Asia history 500BCE
The return of urban civilization to ancient India has been followed by a creative period in its history, with the great world religion of Buddhism being founded
East Asia: China, Korea, Japan history 500BCE
The philosopher Confucius, whose teachings will influence millions of people down to the present day, lives at this time
South East Asia history 500BCE
The Malays and Javanese now inhabit their modern homes, and the Iron Age has come to the region
Oceania history 500BCE
The ancestors of the Polynesians have reached as far east as Fiji
South America history 500BCE
In the Amazon basin, the Arawak diaspora is in full flood
North America history 500BCE
The influence of the Olmec civilization now covers much of Central America
What else is happening in the rest of the world...
Middle East history 200BCE
The conquests of Alexander the Great have reshaped the map of the Middle East, and Greek-speaking kingdoms, founded by Alexander's generals, now cover the region
Africa history 200BCE
Trade routes across the Sahara desert are being pioneered, while, to the south, Bantu farmers continue their swift expansion across the continent
India and South Asia history 200BCE
The history of ancient India has seen the great Mauryan empire cover much of the subcontinent
East Asia: China, Korea, Japan history 200BCE
China has experienced a turbulent period of its ancient history, but has now become united under the Han dynasty.
South East Asia history 200BCE
Indian traders are bringing Hinduism, Buddhism and other elements of Indian civilization to South East Asia
Oceania history 200BCE
A distinctive Polynesian culture is now evolving
South America history 200BCE
The spread of maize as a staple crop allows new areas to be settled by farmers
North America history 200BCE
Several post-Olmec civilizations are emerging in different parts of Central America
What else is happening in the rest of the world...
South America history 30BCE
The Moche and Nazca civilizations are now flourishing
North America history 30BCE
The Mayan civilization is emerging
What else is happening in the rest of the world...
South America history 500CE
Large chiefdoms have emerged in Amazonia
North America history 500CE
The Hopewell culture has vanished
What else is happening in the rest of the world...
Middle East history 750CE
The Middle East has been conquered by Arab armies under the banners of a new religion, Islam
India and South Asia history 750CE
At this stage in India's history, powerful regional kingdoms divide the subcontinent
East Asia: China, Korea, Japan history 750CE
China is now united and powerful under the great Tang dynasty, one of the most glorious in its history, and exerts a huge influence on Japan and Korea
Africa history 750CE
Wealthy kingdoms are emerging in West Africa
South East Asia history 750CE
By this period, Chinese influence is growing in South East Asia. Under the powerful Tang dynasty, China’s trade with the countries of the region is expanding strongly, and one consequence of this may well be the rise of the maritime power of Sri Vijaya, which seems to enjoy a specially-favoured status as a tributary trading […]
South America history 750CE
The Tiwanaku and Wari empires now dominate the highlands of Peru
North America history 750CE
The Pueblo culture is now developing
What else is happening in the rest of the world...
Middle East history 979CE
The Islamic Caliphate is beginning to fragment
India and South Asia history 979CE
This period of its history sees the south emerging as a major centre of Indian civilization
East Asia: China, Korea, Japan history 979CE
China's influence over Korea and Japan has diminished, but at home this phase of its history is a time of great advance
Africa history 979CE
West African kingdoms flourish
South East Asia history 979CE
Old kingdoms are disappearing and new ones emerging
Oceania history 979CE
Long-distance voyages remain a part of the Polynesian way of life
South America history 979CE
The Chimu empire has appeared on the Pacific coast
North America history 979CE
The Mayan civilization is now in decline, while the Mississippian culture is rising
What else is happening in the rest of the world...
India and South Asia history 1215CE
India has entered a new phase in its history as Muslim states establish themselves over much of the north.
East Asia: China, Korea, Japan history 1215CE
In this period of East Asia's history great technological advances occur, both in China and Korea
Africa history 1215CE
The expansion of trade in West Africa is leading to the rise of new kingdoms
South America history 1215CE
The Chimu empire is now the leading state in the Pacific-Andean region
North America history 1215CE
The Toltec empire has vanished, and the Mexica people have appeared in history
South East Asia history 1215CE
The Khmer empire is at the height of its power, and the great temple of Angkor Wat has been built
Middle East history 1215CE
Islam has by now become the majority religion in the Middle East
What else is happening in the rest of the world...
Africa history 1453CE
New kingdoms are emerging in different parts of Africa
Oceania history 1453CE
Easter Island statues getting larger!
East Asia: China, Korea, Japan history 1453CE
The history of the region has been dominated by the rise and fall of the Mongol empire, but Ming dynasty China is now at the centre of a tributary system spanning East Asia
India and South Asia history 1453CE
The history of India has entered a new phase with the dominance of Muslim-ruled states throughout most of the subcontinent.
South America history 1453CE
The Inca empire has begun its expansion
South East Asia history 1453CE
Muslim merchants have established a network of small sultanates in the region
North America history 1453CE
The Aztecs are now building their empire in Central America
What else is happening in the rest of the world...
Middle East history 1648CE
The Ottoman empire now dominates most of the Middle east
India and South Asia history 1648CE
The Mughal empire now rules much of the sub-continent, marking a high point in the history of Indian civilization
East Asia: China, Korea, Japan history 1648CE
In China, the Qing dynasty rules, and Japan and Korea have experienced one of the most destructive wars in East Asian history
South East Asia history 1648CE
Europeans are beginning to make their presence felt in this region
Oceania history 1648CE
The first European sailors have now appeared in Oceania
Africa history 1648CE
Large numbers of Africans are being taken to the Americas as slaves
North America history 1648CE
North America is now being colonized by Europeans
South America history 1648CE
The Spanish and Portuguese now control much of South America
What else is happening in the rest of the world...
Africa history 1789CE
The Atlantic Slave Trade is at its height, and having a destructive impact on wide areas of the African interior
Oceania history 1789CE
The first permanent European settlement has been established in Oceania, in south-west Australia, which has been claimed for the British empire
East Asia: China, Korea, Japan history 1789CE
This is the last glorious phase of East Asia's history before it feels the West's impact, and Qing dynasty China dominates the region with its tributary system
Middle East history 1789CE
The Middle East experiences political weakness in both the Ottoman empire and Iran
India and South Asia history 1789CE
India has entered a new chapter in its history with the expansion of the British empire in the subcontinent
South East Asia history 1789CE
Dutch commercial and political influence now spreads far and wide throughout the islands and coasts of South East Asia
North America history 1789CE
The USA is now an independent nation
South America history 1789CE
The Spanish and Portuguese empires rule most of South America between them
What else is happening in the rest of the world...
Africa history 1837CE
The Zulu conquests are causing turmoil over a large part of south and central Africa
Oceania history 1837CE
European missionaries and traders are active throughout the Pacific
East Asia: China, Korea, Japan history 1837CE
New intrusions into East Asian history, Western merchants and missionaries, are clamouring to be let into China and the other countries of East Asia
Middle East history 1837CE
Some Middle Eastern governments are taking steps to modernize their countries
India and South Asia history 1837CE
The British empire now dominates most of India, marking the most radical change in the long history of the subcontinent
South East Asia history 1837CE
The British are acquiring more territories in the region
North America history 1837CE
The USA has purchased a vast territory from the French
South America history 1837CE
The countries of South America have won their independence from Spain and Portugal
What else is happening in the rest of the world...
Africa history 1871CE
European explorers have visited the interior of Africa
Oceania history 1871CE
The Pacific islands are falling under European control
East Asia: China, Korea, Japan history 1871CE
East Asian history has taken a radically new direction as Western powers force open the doors of China and Jappan to trade and missionary activity
Middle East history 1871CE
The Ottoman empire has tightened its grip on much of the Middle East
India and South Asia history 1871CE
The history of British India almost ended in a great rebellion, but the British were able to regain control
South East Asia history 1871CE
European power is growing in South East Asia
North America history 1871CE
The USA almost tore itself apart in civil war
South America history 1871CE
Foreign investment is pouring into some South American countries
What else is happening in the rest of the world...
Middle East history 1914CE
The British and French are increasingly active in the Middle East
India and South Asia history 1914CE
The history of the British empire in India reaches its height - but it will shortly come to an end
South East Asia history 1914CE
The European powers have shared out most of South East Asia amongst themselves
South America history 1914CE
Brazil, Argentina and Chile are growing wealthy
North America history 1914CE
Canada and the USA have experienced huge industrial expansion
East Asia: China, Korea, Japan history 1914CE
Japan has successfully modernized, and has gained international status at the expense of China and Korea
Oceania history 1914CE
All the Pacific islands have fallen under foreign control
Africa history 1914CE
The European powers have divided almost the whole of Africa up between them
What else is happening in the rest of the world...
Middle East history 1960CE
The Cold War has had a major impact on the Middle East
India and South Asia history 1960CE
The long history of India and South Asia has entered a new chapter with the replacement of the British empire by independent republics
South East Asia history 1960CE
The countries of South East Asia have become independent from their Western masters
South America history 1960CE
Eva Peron wins the hearts of Argentinians
North America history 1960CE
The USA and Canada have fought in the two world wars together
East Asia: China, Korea, Japan history 1960CE
China, Japan and Korea have all experienced some of the most turbulent times in their entire history, as great wars have swept through East Asia
Oceania history 1960CE
Many Pacific islands were caught up in the fierce fighting of World War 2
Africa history 1960CE
The European nations are starting to withdraw from the empires in Africa
What else is happening in the rest of the world...
Middle East history 2005CE
Arab-Israeli hostility has dominated Middle Eastern politics
India and South Asia history 2005CE
The history of India and Pakistan has been characterised by mutual hostility
South East Asia history 2005CE
South East Asia has experienced dramatic economic growth
South America history 2005CE
Many countries of South America have swung, first to dictatorship, and then to democracy
North America history 2005CE
The NAFTA trade agreement is benefitting the economies of all North American countries
East Asia: China, Korea, Japan history 2005CE
The recent histories of all the nations of East Asia, China, Japan and Korea, have seen them become major economic powerhouses in the world
Oceania history 2005CE
Many new independent nations now dot the Pacific Ocean
Africa history 2005CE
All European powers have withdrawn from their empires in Africa
Lost your way? See a list of all maps
Subscribe for more great content – and remove ads
