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Historians: What makes Europe, Europe?

I was just wondering what makes Europe, Europe and why cant Africa or Asia be Europe/a part of Europe? Is it because of the borders in which the European countries are situated at?

Or is it because Africa and Asia are continents whereas the European countries are at the X part of the world?

All i know is that back in them days Russia was split up into different sections and different countries which are non existent now like Austria -Hungary had something to do with it?

This question has been bugging me for some time, so if any one knows the answers to this feel free to enlighten me and i will be grateful?

Reply 1

TSR Jessica

Sorry you've not had any responses about this. :frown:

Are you sure you’ve posted in the right place? Posting in the specific Study Help forum should help get responses. :redface:

I'm going to quote in Puddles the Monkey now so she can move your thread to the right place if it's needed. :h:

Spoiler

Reply 2

Jerome85

I was told this by my geography friend but it's because it lies on a different tectonic plate or something like that

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 3

Puddles the Monkey

Do you mean the continent of Europe?

Or the EU...?

Reply 4

Aph

Original post by Jerome85

I was told this by my geography friend but it's because it lies on a different tectonic plate or something like that

Posted from TSR Mobile

No, Europe lies on the Eurasia plate. (India is on a different plate.) but yes Europe and most of Asia are on the same plate.

I guess the answer is the different culture fostered by predominantly Christianity. One which led to consumerism, individualism and capitalism.

Reply 5

miacat

Original post by German123

I was just wondering what makes Europe, Europe and why cant Africa or Asia be Europe/a part of Europe? Is it because of the borders in which the European countries are situated at?

I am not sure if you mean tectonic plates or the societies being similar. I can't say much for tectonic plates as I have very little geographical knowledge, however after studying early european history, I think it is to do with the revolutions for a constitutional monarchy that made Europe similar, as word spread throughout the separate countries of goings on. Although, I am not an expert on this subject so don't quote me :tongue:

Reply 6

German123

Original post by miacat

Thanks for your reply anyway.

Reply 7

steviepr

Europe is in geological terms part of Eurasia and isn't really a continent (it's by far the smallest and should be part of Asia). The reason why it is differentiated from Asia (and Africa for that matter) is mostly a matter of history.

In the Ancient World, there was already this division between europa, asia and africa, as being N, E, and S respectively of the Mediterranean sea, the centre of the known world.

This continued on into Medieval times, and the seperateness of Europe from Asia was enforced by Western Roman/Catholic influence limited to Western Europe, and Christianity as a whole limited to Europe and Turkey, with the expansion of Islam cutting off and steadily reducing Christian communities in the Middle East (Asia) and Northern Africa. Europe, especially Catholic Europe (as opposed to Greek or Russian Orthodox Europe to the east) developed in relative isolation thanks to schism with the Orthodox church and holy war against Islam, and despite material differences, the cultures of the Western European kingdoms and principalities were remarkably similar, and so western europe was markedly different from the rest of eurasia which had a fair amolunt of cultural transmission thanks to the rise and fall of vast empires (Mongols, Persians, Abbasids, Mughals).

The rest why the distinction remains to this day is more down to the fact that much of the geographical theory and research that results in the modern understanding of the world was laid down and established in the 19th century by the then most advanced and wealthy nations; European ones. This was at a time when Europeans held colonial empires and generally believed themselves to be more socially and even genealogically advanced than either Africans or Asians (and no doubt Americans and Australasians) and so, decided to distinguish their corner of the world from 'uncivilised, colonial Eurasia, and retained the erroneous ancient belief in the seperateness of Europe.

Interestingly if you look at maps made by cartographers coming from an Islamic or Chinese background, especially in Medieval times, Europe is usually depicted as a stunted peninsula jutting out from Asia, and the area away from the Mediterranean is usually poorly drawn or omitted, simply because in these cultures up until the last 200 years, Europe was an unimportant backwater of Asia with little to offer in terms of trade or war.