Europe

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"And I grew up in Europe, where the history comes from." —Eddie Izzard, Dress To Kill

Useful Notes on that place where a lot of Americans originate from via their ancestors. Nonetheless, American media often give the impression that Americans believe "Europe" to be one homogenous place with minor regional variations in language and an annoying propensity for getting into wars and requiring American help to get out of them.

Note that some of the states mentioned below are usually considered European for cultural rather than geographical reasons, like Georgia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan (near the border between continents, but technically Asian) or Cyprus and Armenia (geographically entirely Asian), while the "Europeanness" of Russia and Turkey has long been in dispute (and in any case, both have the majority of their territory in Asia).

In fact, the idea of Europe as a continent is more of a historical holdover than anything that can be objectively justified. There is no continental divide between Europe and Asia, (hence "Eurasian tectonic plate") and some even regard Europe as an Asian subcontinent with delusions of grandeur. Because of this, the exact definition of "Europe" has fluctuated wildly over time - for example, The Iron Man includes the line "all the countries of Europe can fit easily into Australia", which may confuse many modern readers unless they know that, to Ted Hughes, "Europe" stopped at the Iron Curtain. Areas whose "Europeanness" are open to debate include the British Isles, Scandinavia, Cyprus, Turkey, Russia west of the Urals, the Caucasus, etc. etc...

Modern Countries

Note: EU member states marked with an asterisk (*), Eurozone members marked with a Euro sign (€), non-Eurozone Euro users marked with a Euro sign and exclamation point (€!).

Countries:

The British Isles

• Ireland *€
• United Kingdom *
  • Britain (includes index on England)
    • Scotland
    • Wales
  • Northern Ireland

Western Europe

• Andorra €!
• France *€
• Monaco €!
• Portugal *€
• Spain *€

The Low Countries (Benelux)

• Belgium *€
• Luxembourg *€
• The Netherlands *€

Central Europe

• Austria *€
• Czech Republic *
• Germany *€
• Hungary *
• Liechtenstein
• Poland *
• Slovakia *€
• Switzerland

Southern Europe

• Italy *€
• Malta *€
• San Marino €!
• Vatican City €!

Scandinavia

• Denmark *
• Finland *€
• Iceland
• Norway
• Sweden *

Eastern Europe

• Belarus
• Russia
• Ukraine

The Baltics

• Estonia *€
• Latvia *
• Lithuania *

The Balkans

• Albania
• Bosnia
• Bulgaria *
• Croatia
• Cyprus *€
• Greece *€
• Macedonia
• Moldova
• Montenegro €!
• Romania *
• Serbia
• Slovenia *€

The Caucasus (sometimes not considered part of Europe)

• Armenia
• Azerbaijan
• Georgia

The Edges (Have territory in Europe but may not be considered part of it)

• Kazakhstan
• Turkey

Other entities:

• Kosovo €!
• North Cyprus
• Abkhazia
• South Ossetia
• Transnistria
• Nagorno-Karabakh

Defunct Countries etc.

• Byzantine Empire
• East Germany
• Hanseatic League
• Holy Roman Empire
• Habsburg Empire
• Papal States
• Yugoslavia

The European Quiz

• The Irish Question
• The Troubles

Other

• Roma
• Euro Footy
• European Union