masses of the Alps are admirably adapted for imparting to almost the
whole of Europe a remarkable unity, whilst they offer, at the same
time, an extreme variety of aspects and of physical conditions. The
Po, the Rhone, the Rhine, and the Danube traverse countries having
the most diverse climates, and yet they have their sources in the
same mountain region, and the fertilising alluvium which they deposit
in their valleys results from the disintegration of the same rocks.
Minor valleys cut up the slopes of the Alps and of their dependent
chains, and carry towards the sea the waters of the mountains and
the triturated fragments of their rocks. Running waters are visible,
wherever we cast our eyes. There are neither deserts, nor sterile
plateaux, nor inland lakes and river basins such as we meet with in
Africa and Asia. The rivers of Europe are not flooded as are those of
certain portions of South America, which deluge half the country with
water. On the contrary, in the scheme of her rivers Europe exhibits
a certain degree of moderation which has favoured the work of the
settler, and facilitated the rise of a local civilisation in each river
basin. Moreover, although most rivers are sufficiently large to have
retarded migration, they are not sufficiently so to have arrested it
for any length of time. Even when roads and bridges did not exist,
barbarian immigrants easily made their way from the shores of the Black
Sea to those of the Atlantic.
But Europe, in addition to the advantages due to its framework of
mountains and the disposition of its river basins, enjoys the still
greater advantage of possessing an indented coast-line. It is mainly
the contours of its coasts which impart to Europe its double character
of unity and diversity, which distinguish it amongst continents. It
is “one” because of its great central mass, and “diversified” because
of its numerous peninsulas and dependent islands. It is an organism,
if we may say so, resembling a huge body furnished with limbs. Strabo
compared Europe to a dragon. The geographers of the period of the
revival of letters compared it to a crowned virgin, Spain being the
head, France the heart, and England and Italy the hands, holding the
sceptre and the orb. Russia, at that time hardly known, is made to do
duty for the ample folds of the robe.
The area of Europe is only half that of South America, and one-third
of that of Africa, and yet the development of its coast-lines is
superior to that of the two continents taken together. In proportion
to its area the coasts of Europe have twice the extent of those of
South America, Australia, and Africa; and although they are to a small
extent inferior to those of North America, it must be borne in mind
that the arctic coasts of the latter are ice-bound during the greater
portion of the year. A glance at the subjoined diagrams will show that
Europe, as compared with the two other continents washed by the Arctic
Ocean, enjoys the immense advantage of possessing a coast-line almost
wholly available for purposes of navigation, whilst a large portion
of the coasts of Asia and America is altogether useless to man. And
not only does the sea penetrate into the very heart of {14} temperate
Europe, cutting it up into elongated peninsulas, but these peninsulas,
too, are fringed with gulfs and miniature inland seas. The coasts
of Greece, of Thessaly, and of Thrace are thus indented by bays and
gulfs, penetrating far into the land; Italy and Spain likewise possess
numerous bays and gulfs; and the peninsulas of Northern Europe, Jutland
and Scandinavia, are cut up by the waters of the ocean into numerous
secondary peninsulas.
[Illustration: Fig. 3.—DEVELOPMENT OF COAST-LINES RELATIVELY TO AREA.
Europe. Asia. Africa. N. America. S. America. Australia.
Total area, square miles 4,005,100 17,308,400 11,542,400 9,376,850 6,803,570 3,450,130
Mainland area, square miles 3,758,300 15,966,000 11,293,930 7,973,700 6,731,470 2,934,500
Development of coast-line, 18,600 34,110 16,480 30,890 16,390 10,570
miles
Accessible coasts 17,610 28,200 16,480 26,510 16,390 14,400
Ratio of the geometrical to 1 : 2·5 1 : 2·5 1 : 1·4 1 : 3·1 1 : 1·8 1 : 1·7
the actual contour
The shaded circles represent the various continents; the outer circle
represents the actual extent of coast-line. The blank space between
the two concentric circles represents graphically the difference
between the smallest possible or geometrical contour of a country
having the area of the respective continents, and the actual contour
as exhibited in the existing coast-lines. Europe, being in reality
only a peninsula of Asia, hardly admits of this comparison.]
The islands of Europe must be looked upon as dependencies of that
continent, for most of them are separated from it only by shallow seas.
Candia and the islands scattered broadcast over the Ægean Sea, the
Archipelagos of the Ionian Sea, and of Dalmatia, Sicily, Corsica and
Sardinia, Elba, and the Baleares, are in reality but prolongations,
or maritime out-stations, of neighbouring peninsulas. To the islands
of Sealand and Fyen, at the entrance to the Baltic, Denmark owes {15}
most of her commercial and political importance. Great Britain and
Ireland, which actually formed a portion of the European continent in a
past age, cannot be looked upon otherwise than as dependencies of it,
although the isthmus which once joined them has been destroyed by the
waters of the ocean. England has actually become the grand commercial
emporium of Europe, and plays now the same part in the world’s commerce
that Greece once played in that of the more restricted world of the
Mediterranean.
It is a remarkable fact that each of the European peninsulas should
have enjoyed in turn a period of commercial preponderance. Greece, the
“most noble individuality of the world of the ancients,” came first,
and when at the height of her power governed the Mediterranean, which
at that time meant nearly the whole universe. During the Middle Ages
Amalfi, Genoa, and Venice became the commercial agents between Europe
and the Indies. The discovery of a passage round the Cape and of
America diverted the world’s commerce to Cadiz, Seville, and Lisbon, on
the Iberian peninsula. Subsequently the merchants of the small Dutch
Republic seized a portion of the heritage of Spain and Portugal, and
the wealth of the entire world was floated into the harbours of their
sea-bound islands and peninsulas. In our own days Great Britain, thanks
to its favourable geographical position, in the very centre of great
continental masses, and the energy of its people, has become the great
mart of the world. London, the most populous city of the world, is
also the great centre of attraction for the treasures of mankind; but
there can be no doubt that sooner or later it will be supplanted, in
consequence of the opening of new commercial high-roads, and changes in
the political preponderance of nations. Perhaps some city of the United
States will take the place of London in a future age, and thus the
American belief in the westward march of civilisation will be verified;
or we may possibly return to the East, and convert Constantinople or
Cairo into the world’s emporium and centre of intercourse.
But, whatever may happen in the future, the great changes which have
taken place in the relative importance of the peninsulas and islands
of Europe in the short span of twenty centuries, sufficiently prove
that geographical features exercise a varying influence at different
epochs. That which at one time was looked upon as a great natural
advantage may become, in course of time, a serious disadvantage. Thus
the numerous inlets and gulfs enclosed by mountain chains, which
favoured the rise of the cities of Greece, and gave to Athens the
dominion of the Mediterranean, now constitute as many obstacles to
their connection with the existing system of European communications.
That which in former times constituted the strength of the country
has become its weakness. In primitive times, before man ventured upon
the seas, these bays and gulfs formed insurmountable obstacles to the
migration of nations; at a later date, when the art of navigation had
been acquired, they became commercial high-roads, and were favourable
to the development of civilisation; and at the present time they are
again obstacles in the way of our road-builders and railway engineers.
{16}
V.—CLIMATE.
The influence exercised by the relief of the land and the configuration
of the coasts varies in different ages, but that of climate is
permanent. In this respect Europe is the most favoured region of the
earth, for during a cycle of unknown length it has enjoyed a climate at
once the most temperate, the most equable, and the most healthy of all
continents.
Owing to the inland seas which penetrate far into the land, the whole
of Europe is exposed to the modifying influence of the ocean. With
the exception of Central Russia, no part of Europe is more than 400
miles from the sea, and, as most of the mountains slope from the
centre of the continent towards its circumference, the influence of
the sea breezes is felt throughout. And thus continental Europe, in
spite of its great extent, enjoys the advantages of an insular climate
throughout, the winds passing over the ocean moderating the heat of
summer and tempering the cold of winter.
The continuous north-easterly movement of the waters of the Atlantic
likewise has a favourable effect upon the climate of Europe. After
having been heated by a tropical sun in the Gulf of Mexico, the
gulf-stream issues through the Strait of Florida, and, spreading over
the Atlantic, takes its course towards the coasts of Europe. This
enormous mass of warm water, equal in volume to twenty million rivers
as large as the Rhone, brings the warmth of southern latitudes to the
western and northern shores of Europe. Its influence is felt not only
in the maritime countries of Western Europe, but to some extent as far
as the Caspian and the Ural Mountains.
The currents of the air exercise as favourable an influence upon the
climate of Europe as do those of the ocean. The south-westerly winds
predominating on the coasts pass over the warm gulf-stream, and, on
reaching Europe, they part with the heat stored up by them between
the tropics. The north-westerly, northerly, and even north-easterly
winds, which blow during a portion of the year, are less cold than
might be expected, for they, too, have to cross the warm waters of
the gulf-stream. And lastly, there is the Sahara, which elevates the
temperature of a portion of Europe.
The increase in temperature due to the combined influence of winds
and ocean currents amounts to 40° 50°, and even 60°, if we compare
Europe with other parts of the world lying under the same latitudes.
Nowhere else, not even on the western coast of North America, do the
isothermals, or lines of equal annual temperature, ascend so high
towards the arctic regions. The inhabitants of Europe, though they
may live 900 to 1,200 miles farther away from the equator, enjoy as
mild a climate as do those of America, and the decrease of temperature
on going northward is far less rapid than in any other part of the
globe. This uniformity of temperature constitutes one of the most
characteristic features of Europe. The whole of it lies within the
temperate region bounded by the isothermal lines of 32° F. and 68° F.,
whilst in America and Asia that privileged zone has only half this
extent. {17}
[Illustration: Fig. 4.—THE ISOTHERMAL ZONE OF EUROPE.
Scale 1 : 60,000,000.
Erhard.]
This remarkable uniformity in the climate of Europe is exhibited not
only in its temperature, but likewise in the distribution of its
rains. The seas washing the shores of Europe supply all parts of it
with the necessary amount of moisture. There is no rainless district,
nor, with the exception of a portion of the maritime region of the
Caspian and a small corner of Spain, any district where droughts
occasionally entail the entire loss of the harvest. Rains fall not
only regularly every year, but in most countries they occur in every
season, the only exception being the countries of the Mediterranean,
where autumn and winter are the real rainy seasons. Moreover, in spite
of the great diversity in the physical features of Europe, the amount
of rain is scarcely anywhere excessive, whether it descends as a fine
drizzle, as in Ireland, or in heavy showers, as in Provence and on
the southern slope of the Alps. The annual rainfall scarcely ever
exceeds thirty-nine inches, except on the flanks of certain mountain
ranges which arrest the passage of currents charged with moisture.
This uniformity and moderation in the rainfall exercise a regulating
influence upon the course of the rivers, for even the smallest amongst
them, at all events those to the north of the Pyrenees, the Alps, and
the Balkan, flow throughout the year. They rise and fall generally
within narrow limits, and inundations on a vast scale are as rare as
is want of water for purposes of irrigation. In consequence of this
regularity, Europe is able to derive a greater advantage from its
waters than other continents where the amount of precipitation is more
considerable. The Alps contribute much towards {18} maintaining a
regular flow of the rivers; the excess of humidity which falls to their
share is stored up in the shape of snow and ice, which descend slowly
into the valleys, and melt during the heat of summer. This happens
just at a time when the rivers gain least from rain, and lose most
by evaporation, and some amongst them would dry up if the ice of the
mountains did not come to the aid of the waters descending from the
sky. It is thus that a sort of balance is established in the economy of
European rivers.
The climate of Europe is thus characterized by uniformity as a whole,
and by a compensatory action in its contrasts. Regularity and freedom
from excess, such as are not known in other continents, mark its ocean
currents, its winds, its temperature and rains, and the course of
its rivers. These great advantages have benefited its inhabitants in
the past, and will not cease to do so in the future. Though small in
extent, Europe possesses by far the largest area of acclimation. Man
may migrate from Russia to Spain, or from Ireland to Greece, without
exposing himself to any great risk of life. The inhabitants of the
Caucasus and the Ural Mountains were thus able to cross the plains and
mountains of Europe, and to establish themselves on the shores of the
Atlantic. Soil and climate are equally propitious to man, and enable
him to preserve his physical and intellectual powers wherever he goes.
A migratory people might found new homesteads in any part of Europe.
Their companions of travel—the dog, the horse, and the ox—would not
desert them on the road, and the seed-corn which they carry with them
would yield a harvest wherever confided to the earth.
VI.—INHABITANTS.
A study of the soil and a patient observation of climatic phenomena
enable us to appreciate the general influence exercised by the nature
of the country upon the development of its inhabitants; but it is
more difficult to assign to each race or nation its due share in
the progress of European civilisation. No doubt, in their struggles
for existence, different groups of naked and ignorant savages must
have been acted upon differently, according to their numbers and
physical strength, their inborn intelligence, their tastes and mental
tendencies. But who were those primitive men who first turned to
account the natural resources of the country in which they dwelt? We
know not; for, if we go back for a few thousand years, every fact
is shrouded in darkness. We know nothing even as regards the origin
of the leading nations of Europe. Are we the “sons of the soil,”
and the “shoots of oak-trees,” as told in the poetical language of
ancient tradition, or are we to look upon the inhabitants of Asia as
the ancestors to whom we are indebted for our languages, and for the
rudiments of our arts and sciences? Or did those immigrants from a
neighbouring continent settle down amongst an indigenous population?
Not many years ago the Asiatic origin of European nations was accepted
as an established fact, and the original seats of our forefathers
were pointed out upon the map of Asia. But now most men of science
are agreed to {19} seek our ancestors upon the very soil which we,
their descendants, still occupy. Caverns, the shores of oceans and
lakes, and the alluvial beds of our rivers have yielded the remains
of human industry, and even human skeletons, which clearly prove that
long before these supposed immigrations from Asia there existed in
Europe tribes who had already made some progress in human industry.
Even in the childhood of history there existed tribes who were looked
upon as aborigines, and some of their descendants—as, for instance, the
Basks—have nothing in common with the invaders from the neighbouring
continent. Nor is it universally admitted that the Aryans—that is, the
ancestors of the Pelasgians, the Greeks, the Latins, Celts, Germans,
and Slavs—are of Asiatic origin. Similarity of language may justify
our belief in the common origin of the Aryans of Europe, the Persians,
and the Hindoos, but it does not prove that their ancestral home
should be looked for somewhere near the sources of the Oxus. Many
men of learning[3] look upon the Aryans as aborigines of Europe, but
certainty on this point does not exist. No doubt, in prehistoric times,
intermigrations between the two continents were frequent; but we hardly
know what directions they took, and can speak with certainty only of
those migrations of peoples which are related by history. We thus know
that Europe sent forth to other continents Galatians, Macedonians, and
Greeks, and more recently innumerable emigrants of all nationalities,
and received in turn Huns, Avares, Turks, Mongols, Circassians, Jews,
Armenians, Moors, Berbers, and members of many other nations.
[Illustration: ETHNOGRAPHICAL MAP OF EUROPE]
Leaving out of consideration the smaller families of nations, as well
as the members of races who have not attained a national existence,
Europe may be described as consisting of three great ethnological
divisions, the principal boundary between which is formed by the Alps,
the Carpathians, and the Balkan.
The first of these great families of European nations, the members of
which speak Greco-Latin languages, occupies the southern slopes of the
Balkan and of the Alps, the Iberian peninsula, France, and a portion of
Belgium, as well as a few detached territories within the limits of the
ancient Roman empire, altogether surrounded by alien nations. Such are
the plains of the Lower Danube and a portion of Transylvania, which are
inhabited by the Rumanians, and a few secluded Alpine valleys inhabited
by “Romans.” On the other hand, fragments of two ancient nations have
maintained their ground in the midst of Latinised populations, viz.
the Celtic inhabitants of Brittany, and the Basks of the Pyrenees.
Generally speaking, however, all the inhabitants of South-western
Europe, whether of Celtic, Iberian, or Ligurian race, speak languages
derived from the Latin, and whatever differences existed originally
between these various populations, this community of language has more
or less obliterated them.
The Teutonic nations form the second great group. They occupy nearly
the whole of Central Europe to the north of the Alps, and extend
through Holland and Flanders to within a short distance of the
Straits of Dover. Denmark and the great Scandinavian peninsula, as
well as Iceland, belong to the same group, and {20} the bulk of the
inhabitants of the British Islands are likewise generally included in
it. The latter, however, should rather be described as a mixed race,
for the aboriginal Celtic population of these islands, which now exists
pure only in a few remote districts, has amalgamated with Anglo-Saxon
and Danish invaders, and the language of the latter has become mixed
with mediæval French, the resulting idiom being almost as much Latin as
Saxon. The development of national characteristics has been favoured
by the isolation in which the inhabitants of the British Islands found
themselves, and they differ essentially from continental neighbours—the
Scandinavians, Germans, and Celto-Latins—in language and customs.
The Slavs, or Slavonians, form the third group of European nations.
They are less numerous than the Greco-Latins, but the territories they
occupy are far more extensive, for they spread over nearly the whole
of Russia, over Poland, a large portion of the Balkan peninsula, and
about one-half of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. All the great plains
to the east of the Carpathians are inhabited by Slavs, either pure or
mixed with Tartars and Mongols. To the west and south of the mountains
the race is split up into numerous small nations, and in the valley
of the Danube these come into contact with Rumanians, as well as with
Turks and Magyars, the two latter being of Asiatic origin, and these
separate the Slavonians of the north from the Slavonians of the south.
In the north, Finns, Livonians, and Lithuanians interpose between the
Slavonians and the Germanic nations.[4]
Race and language, however, are not always identical. Members of one
race frequently speak the language of another, and race and linguistic
boundaries, therefore, differ frequently. As for the political
boundaries, they scarcely ever follow those natural features which
would have been selected had their settlement been intrusted to the
spontaneous action of the different nations. They hardly ever coincide
with the boundaries of races or of languages, except in the case of a
few high mountain ranges or of arms of the sea. On many occasions the
countries of Europe were arbitrarily split up in consequence of wars or
diplomatic arrangements. A few peoples only, protected by the nature
of their country as well as {21} by their valour, have maintained
their independence since the age of great migrations, but many more
have been swept away by successive invasions. Many others, again, have
alternately seen their frontiers expand and contract more than once
even during a generation.
The so-called “balance of European powers,” founded as it is upon the
rights of war and ambitious rivalries between nations, is necessarily
unstable. Nations eminently fit to lead a common political existence
are torn asunder on the one side, whilst the most heterogeneous
elements are thrown together on the other. In these political
arrangements the nations themselves are never consulted, but their
wishes and inclinations must nevertheless prevail in the end, and
the artificial edifice raised by warriors and statesmen will come to
the ground. A true “balance of power” will only be established when
every nation of the continent shall have become the arbiter of its
own destinies, when every pretended right of conquest shall have been
surrendered, and neighbouring nations shall be at liberty to combine
for the management of the affairs they have in common. Our arbitrary
political divisions, therefore, possess but a transitory value. They
cannot altogether be ignored; but in the following descriptions we
shall, as far as possible, adhere to the great natural divisions as
defined by mountains and valleys, and by the distribution of nations
having the same origin and speaking the same language. But even these
natural boundaries lose their importance in countries like Switzerland,
inhabited by nations speaking different languages, but held together by
the strongest of all ties—the common enjoyment of freedom.