Peoples of Western Europe. Ethnic composition of the population of foreign Europe

More than six dozen people live in foreign Europe different nations. For many, this territory became home even before the formation of the modern world map.

Factors in the formation of the national composition of Foreign Europe

• Relief . Since ancient times, tribes of people united in lowland areas. Therefore, the Paris Basin and the North German Lowland are considered the earliest inhabited regions. The fusion of ethnic groups is clearly visible in countries with predominantly mountainous terrain - in the Balkans and the Alps.
• Migration . Europe has experienced waves of migration more than once throughout its history. In fact, the processes of migration of peoples to more developed countries has been going on for 4 centuries. But the largest influx of people occurred at the beginning of the 20th century, after the end of the First World War and the liquidation of the colonies. The continent was settled by people from Central Asia, Latin America, Africa and Oceania. Ethnic diasporas of these people still exist in France, Germany, England, Switzerland and a number of other countries. But people have taken root and merged with ethnic people that it is almost impossible to identify purebred Arabs or Mexicans.
• Inter-specific conflicts and civil wars . The national composition of foreign Europe was constantly changing. Only for the last 60 years has Europe been at peace. It is difficult to list all the conflicts and wars in its history. Countries united, divided, and only in 1918 the foundation was formed, which is now depicted on the world map. The final formation of states occurred as recently as 1990, following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Fig.1. Map of Europe before the First World War, 1914.

There is no such ethnic group as the Spaniards; in the tenth century AD, several nationalities united into one. These were: Arabs, Celts, Jews, representatives of the Romanesque culture. It took several centuries to complete the merger process. The Bulgarians also lost their original culture, because they were under the rule of the Ottoman Empire for 4 centuries.

Composition of the population of Foreign Europe

According to the number of peoples within the country, all states are divided into three types: single-national, binational and multinational, i.e. those with large national minorities.

Rice. 2. Ethnic composition Europe

14 single-national countries of Foreign Europe are presented in the table:

Fig.3. Percentage of indigenous population

Germany, and its neighbors from the west and east - Austria and the Netherlands, are conventionally considered single-national, despite mass migrations to these countries.

The most multinational countries of Foreign Europe can be conditionally divided into two groups: the first will include the states of Great Britain, Spain and Switzerland, and the other will include all the countries of the Balkans.

The indigenous population of Germany are Germans. The largest diaspora are Turks, Russians, Italians and Greeks.

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Great Britain consists of several ethnic territories united under one crown. That is why it is considered multinational. The English live in the towns and villages of England, the Scots live in the northern part of the island, and the Irish live in Ireland. And among all the diversity of migrant cultures, the Gaels and Welsh retained their identity.

The peoples predominant in Spain: Basques, Spaniards, Catalans, Gypsies.

The indigenous population of Switzerland is divided into 4 ethnic groups: German-Swiss, Italo-Swiss, Franco-Swiss and Romansh.

Binational countries:

• Baltic Sea States : Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania. In addition to the national indigenous population, the Russian diaspora predominates in these countries.
• Scandinavian states : Finland, Sweden. In addition to the indigenous peoples, who make up the first group of the national majority (Finns and Swedes), in these countries there is a second group - immigrants.
• Slavic countries : Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria.
• France . Despite the fact that the majority of the population calls themselves French, the following nationalities have survived: Basques, Lorraine, Flemings, Jews.

Man began to populate Europe as the glacier retreated. The most ancient settlements arose approximately 22 thousand years ago on the territory of modern Vladimir region and in England. As a result of climate warming, the glacier retreated at a speed of approximately 1 km. per year, and the man followed on his heels. 10 thousand years ago, human settlements already existed on the territory of modern Denmark, 9 thousand in Finland, 8 thousand in Sweden and Norway. Experts believe that Europeans at that time looked like modern inhabitants Northern Europe Sami who have external features Caucasoids and Mongoloids. Even 8 thousand years ago there was one ancient European language. From its roots in Europe, there remains, apparently, only one language, which was formed later - Basque. About 5-7 thousand years ago, modern Indo-European languages ​​developed. Over the course of many millennia, the formation of the main ethnic groups in Europe took place. By the 5th century AD their main features developed and their geography formed.

Germanic peoples inhabited most of Central and Northern Europe, Germanic tribes settled in England and conquered the local Celts. The Slavs were historically concentrated in the East, and the Romance peoples in the south. The northeastern tip of Europe was inhabited by Finno-Ugric peoples, who came to this territory back in the 3rd-2nd centuries. BC e.

In addition to the named peoples, the picture was complemented by the so-called “ethnic uniques”. First of all, this applies to the Greeks, the oldest ethnic group in Europe, which flourished in the 8th-5th centuries. BC e. The self-name of the ethnic group - Hellenes (and the country - Hellas) did not take root among other peoples, but the name given to them in Southern Italy - Greeks - came into use. Basques live compactly on the Iberian Peninsula and speak a complex, ancient language. They call themselves "Euskaldunak", which means "Basque speakers". At the other end of Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula, Albanians traditionally lived, descendants of the more ancient inhabitants of this region. Their self-name is “shkiptar”, meaning “those who speak clearly.” Basques and Albanians lived in completely different “linguistic environments”. Maybe that's why they called themselves that? In western Europe, pockets of Celtic populations remain, and previously the Celts lived on the mainland Central Europe. Later, fate brought them to the British Isles.

In the V-X centuries. Europe was experiencing the era of the Great Migration of Peoples, which geographically covered almost all of Europe and the northern part of Africa.

By the middle of the 16th century. (this was the Renaissance) almost all major ethnic communities, the predecessors of modern European nations, emerged.

From the 16th century To this day, there have been no major changes in the ethnic composition of the European population. The millions of non-European immigrants who arrived in the region mainly after the Second World War have not brought major changes to the ethnic picture of Europe's 700 million people. Multinational empires - Russian, Ottoman and Austria-Hungary - fell apart without creating united nations (and this was impossible under those conditions). They were replaced by Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and the USSR. However, they also ceased to exist. In general, we can say that in Western Europe, ethnic processes at the end of the 20th century. proceed relatively calmly, and in the east they are often accompanied by the desire to create “ethnically pure” states (see also the article ““). This leads to numerous conflicts and even wars (as is happening in the former Yugoslavia). The only example of a calm, civilized national “divorce” in the east was the former Czechoslovakia.

Most European countries are mononational, in which the vast majority of the population is made up of people of the same nationality.

The population of modern Foreign Europe is characterized by high homogeneity in terms of national composition. The majority of the peoples living here represent the Indo-European language group. But the actual ethnic composition of the region is quite complex, so interethnic relations often become strained here.

General characteristics

The population of this region is estimated at approximately 700 million people. The indigenous peoples of Foreign Europe represent the Caucasoid race. But over the years, due to many factors, representatives of other nationalities have actively moved here.

Experts count about 60 nationalities in the region, so the map of the peoples of Foreign Europe is diverse. Both historical and natural factors played a role in the formation of such diversity. In any case, the residence of large national groups on the flat territory was very convenient.

The most diverse ethnic composition is characteristic of the Alps and Balkans, where mountainous and rugged areas predominate.

The French people formed on the territory of the Paris Basin. The Germans chose the North German Lowland as their main region.

Rice. 1. Family in national German costumes

Main linguistic groups of the population

On the territory of modern Foreign Europe there are many different states. The bulk of them belong to a single-national group, when the state border coincides with the historically formed ethnic one.

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Among the most famous are many nation states It is worth mentioning Spain, Belgium, Serbia, Great Britain and Belgium.

The corresponding table shows that many European peoples speak languages ​​from the Indo-European family.

The following language groups belong to Indo-European:

• German (represented in English, Norwegian, German and Danish);
• Celtic (Irish);
• Romanskaya (French, Portuguese, Italian, Romanian);
• Baltic (Latvian, Lithuanian).

Also popular in the region Slavic languages. They are divided into:

• Eastern - Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian;
• Southern - Serbian, Slovenian;
• Western - Czech and Polish.

On the territory of modern Foreign Europe there are people who speak such unique languages, like Finnish, Greek, Albanian. They are very different from the traditional European dialect.

Rice. 2 Map of the peoples of Foreign Europe

Today in Europe most The population speaks excellent German. It is the main one for six states of this region and is a state one not only for Germany.

Formation of ethnic composition

Ethnic composition European population was formed under the influence of many factors. But the main role was played by migrations that covered this territory in the period from the 16th to the 20th centuries. This was mainly due to the influence of politics.

Thus, people began to emigrate en masse to European territory due to the revolution that happened in Russia in 1917. Then more than two million people changed their original place of residence. Since then, in almost every European country there is a Russian diaspora.

Rice. 3 International students

In more early period the population changed their place of residence due to destructive wars. Due to constant hostilities on the territory of a particular country, the gene pool modern Europe very fragmented and multinational.

What have we learned?

Representatives of various nationalities of the world live in modern Foreign Europe. The diversity of languages ​​of Foreign Europe is related by belonging to a single language family - Indo-European.

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The national composition of the population of foreign Europe is heterogeneous; there are single-national states and states with a complex structure in ethnic terms. What countries are these? What are the main groups based on national composition? What factors influenced the formation of the ethnic composition of European countries? This and much more will be discussed in the article.

Factors that influenced the national composition of foreign Europe

Currently, more than 62 peoples live in Europe. Such a motley national mosaic was formed in this territory over several millennia under the influence of historical and natural factors.

Plain territories were convenient for the settlement of people and the emergence of ethnic groups. So, for example, the French nation was formed on the territory of the Paris Basin, and the German people were formed on the North German Lowland.

Mountainous territories complicated connections between ethnic groups; in such territories, as a rule, a motley ethnic composition was formed, for example, the Balkans and the Alps.

Migration processes have had a significant impact on the national composition of Europe. From the 16th century. and until the beginning of the 20th century. Europe was mainly a region of emigration, and from the second half of the 20th century. became a region of immigration.

After the revolution of 1917, a stream of migrants poured from Russia to foreign European countries, numbering about 2 million people. They formed ethnic diasporas in France, Germany, Great Britain, Switzerland, Italy, Yugoslavia.

Numerous internecine wars and conquests also had a huge impact on the national composition of foreign Europe, as a result of which many peoples developed a very complex gene pool. For example, the Spanish people were formed as a result of the mixing of Arab, Celtic, Roman, and Jewish blood over several centuries. The Bulgarian ethnic group was influenced by Turkish rule for 4 centuries.

Since the mid-20th century, migration to Europe from former European colonies has increased. Thus, millions of Asians, Africans, Arabs, and Latin Americans settled permanently in foreign Europe. In the 70-90s, there were several waves of political and labor migration from Yugoslavia and Turkey. Many of them assimilated into Great Britain, France and Germany, which led to a change modern look French, English and Germans.

The most acute ethnic problems in Europe are national separatism and conflicts on ethnic grounds. As an example, we can recall the confrontation between the Walloons and the Flemings in the 80s in Belgium, which almost split the country. The radical organization ETA has been operating for decades now, demanding the creation of a Basque state in southwestern France and northern Spain. IN lately Relations between Catalonia and Spain worsened; in October 2017, a referendum for independence was held in Catalonia, the turnout was 43 percent, 90% of those who showed up voted for independence, but it was declared illegal and without legal force.

Types of countries in foreign Europe by national composition

In this regard they are divided into:

• Monoethnic, when the main nation makes up approximately 90% or more of the country's population. These include Norway, Denmark, Poland, Bulgaria, Italy, Iceland, Sweden, Germany, Austria, Portugal, Ireland, Slovenia.
• With a predominance of one nation, but with a significant percentage of national minorities in the structure of the country's population. These are, for example, France, Finland, Great Britain, Romania, Spain.
• Binational, that is, in national composition The country is dominated by two nations. An example is Belgium.
• Multinational - Latvia, Switzerland.

There are three predominant types of countries in foreign Europe in terms of national composition - single-national, with a predominance of one nation, and binational.

In many European countries, very complex interethnic relationships have developed: Spain (Basques and Catalans), France (Corsica), Cyprus, Great Britain (Scotland), Belgium.

Language groups of the population of foreign Europe

In terms of language, the vast majority of the European population belongs to the Indo-European language family. It includes:

• The Slavic branch, which is divided into two groups: southern and western. South Slavic languages ​​are spoken by Croats, Slovenes, Montenegrins, Serbs, Macedonians, Bosnians, and West Slavic languages ​​are spoken by Czechs, Poles, and Slovaks.
• The Germanic branch, which is divided into western and northern groups. The West Germanic group includes German, Flemish, Frisian, and English. To the North Germanic group - Faroese, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic,
• Romanesque branch, its basis was Latin. This branch includes the following French, Italian, Provençal, Portuguese, Spanish.
• The Celtic branch is currently represented by only 4 languages: Irish, Gaelic, Welsh, Breton. Approximately 6.2 million people speak the language group.

The Indo-European language family includes Greek (more than 8 million speakers) and Albanian (2.5 million people). is also Indo-European. Before World War II, there were about 1 million Roma in Europe; today, about 600 thousand of them live in foreign European countries.

In foreign Europe the following languages ​​are spoken:

• The Uralic language family - its Finno-Ugric branch - Finns, Hungarians, Sami.
• Altai language family - Turkic branch - Tatars, Turks, Gagauz.

The Basque language occupies a special place; it does not belong to any language family; it is a so-called isolated language, the historical connections of which have not been established; about 800 thousand people are native speakers of the language.

National and religious composition of foreign Europe

The dominant religion in Europe is Christianity, only Jews profess Judaism, and Albanians and Croats profess Islam.

Catholicism is practiced by the Spaniards, Portuguese, Italians, French, Irish, Austrians and Belgians, Poles, Hungarians, Czechs, and Slovaks.

It should be noted that among the Czechs, Slovaks and Hungarians there are many Protestants.

In Switzerland and Germany, Catholics are approximately 50%.

Protestantism is practiced by Norwegians, Swedes, Finns, and Germans. Moreover, Lutheranism is widespread.

Orthodox Christianity is widespread in the countries of southeast and eastern Europe - in Greece, Romania, Bulgaria.

However, it is impossible to judge a person’s nationality based on religious principles. Many peoples adopted the religion of the state in which they lived. For example, many gypsies profess Christianity, but there are entire camps that consider Islam their religion.

History of statistical accounting of the national composition of the European population

About 500 million people live in Europe; the predominant part of the population, according to anthropological characteristics, is the Caucasian race. Europe can rightfully be considered the ancestral home of the national identity of peoples. It was here that national groups began to emerge, the relationships between which created the history of Europe and beyond. Here, population statistics began to develop, taking into account the national composition. But here are the principles for determining a particular nationality in different countries Europe was different.

Initially, the national identity of a people was associated with linguistic identity. One of the first countries in foreign Europe that carried out a statistical accounting of the national composition of its citizens depending on their knowledge of language were Belgium in 1846 and Switzerland in 1850 (during the population census the question was asked: “What is your main spoken language?”). Prussia took up this initiative, and the population census in 1856 used a question on the “mother” (native) language.

In 1872, at the Statistical Congress in St. Petersburg, it was decided to introduce a direct question of nationality into the list of questions for statistical registration of the country's citizens. However, until the 20s of the 20th century, this solution was never implemented.

All this time, they kept statistical records of citizens based on religion or language. This position in the population census remained almost until the outbreak of World War II.

The complexities of ethnic statistics today

In the post-war period, many countries of foreign Europe either did not set the task of taking into account the national composition of the population at all, or they limited it too much.

More reliable information is based on taking into account nationality in five European countries: Albania (census 1945, 1950, 1960), Bulgaria (census 1946, 1956), Romania (census 1948, 1956), Czechoslovakia (census 1950) and Yugoslavia (census 1948, 1953, 1961). All censuses included a question on nationality and mother tongue.

In countries where only the linguistic affiliation of the population was recorded, the ability to determine the national composition becomes more difficult. These are Belgium, Greece, Finland, Austria, Hungary, Switzerland, Liechtenstein. Nationality does not always coincide with linguistic identity; many peoples speak the same language, for example, the Swiss, Germans, and Austrians speak German. In addition, many peoples were completely assimilated into the territory to which they moved, and the concept of " native language“as a determinant of ethnicity in this case does not work.

Countries such as Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Malta, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Great Britain, Ireland, Spain, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, France did not set themselves the task of determining the national composition of the population during the census. Firstly, in these countries the concept of “nationality” is synonymous with “citizenship”; secondly, some countries have a relatively homogeneous national composition (Iceland, Portugal, Denmark, Ireland); thirdly, in some countries relatively accurate information is available only for certain peoples, for example, for the Welsh in Great Britain.

Thus, the poor development of statistics on the national issue and repeated changes in the political boundaries of states have created significant problems in the formation of reliable data on the national composition of the population of foreign Europe.

Dynamics of the number of peoples in foreign Europe

The dynamics of the population of the peoples of foreign Europe was not entirely the same throughout its centuries-old history.

In the Middle Ages, the number of Romance peoples increased the fastest, since they were more developed culturally and economically. In modern times, the primacy was seized by the Germanic and Slavic peoples.

The normal natural development of some peoples of Europe was disrupted by world wars. Significant losses during the last world war were experienced by the Jewish people, whose numbers decreased by more than 3 times, and by the Gypsies by 2 times.

As for forecasts for the future, the percentage increase in the national composition of European countries is possible Slavic peoples and a decrease in the percentage of Germans.

Factors influencing the dynamics of the population of peoples of foreign Europe

One of the main factors influencing the number of individual peoples in the national structure of foreign European countries is migration, as a result of which the number of people decreases. For example, after the resettlement of Jews to Israel, their number in Europe sharply decreased. But there were exceptions. For example, the Greeks, whose numbers increased sharply due to the resettlement of Greeks from Turkey to Europe.

The dynamics of the population of a particular people is influenced by the level of birth and death rates, but most of all it depends on the degree of its assimilation in the country of residence. Many second and third generation migrants lose their national identity, becoming almost completely assimilated. For example, in France, Spaniards and Italians are gradually becoming French.

Instead of output

The national composition of foreign Europe is characterized by comparative homogeneity. Europe is dominated by single-national countries and countries where the vast majority are representatives of a particular nation. There are very few countries that are nationally complex, but national issues they are very sharp.

The peoples of Europe are one of the most interesting and at the same time difficult topics in history and cultural studies. Understanding the peculiarities of their development, life, traditions, and culture will allow us to better understand the modern events that are taking place in this part of the world in various areas of life.

General characteristics

With all the diversity of the population living on the territory of European countries, we can say that, in principle, they all went through one common path development. Most states were formed on the territory of the former Roman Empire, which included vast areas, from the Germanic lands in the west to the Gallic regions in the east, from Britain in the north to northern Africa in the south. That is why we can say that all these countries, despite all their dissimilarity, nevertheless formed in a single cultural space.

Path of development in the early Middle Ages

The peoples of Europe as nationalities began to take shape as a result of the great migration of tribes that swept the continent in the 4th-5th centuries. Then, as a result of massive migration flows, a radical transformation took place social structure, which existed for centuries during the period ancient history, and new ethnic communities took shape. In addition, the formation of nationalities was influenced by the movement that founded their so-called barbarian states on the lands of the former Roman Empire. Within their framework, the peoples of Europe emerged approximately in the form in which they exist at the present stage. However, the process of final national formation occurred during the mature Middle Ages.

Further formation of states

In the XII-XIII centuries, the process of formation of national identity began in many countries of the continent. This was the time when the prerequisites arose for residents of states to begin to identify and position themselves as a specific national community. This initially manifested itself in language and culture. The peoples of Europe began to develop national literary languages, which determined their belonging to a particular ethnic group. In England, for example, this process began very early: already in the 12th century famous writer D. Chaucer created his famous “ Canterbury Tales", which laid the foundation for the national English language.

XV-XVI centuries in the history of Western Europe

The late Middle Ages and early modern period played a decisive role in the formation of states. This was the period of the formation of monarchies, the formation of the main governing bodies, the formation of economic development paths, and, most importantly, the specific cultural appearance was formed. Due to these circumstances, the traditions of the peoples of Europe were very diverse. They were determined by the entire course of previous development. First of all, the geographical factor had an impact, as well as the peculiarities of the formation of national states, which finally took shape in the era under consideration.

New time

The 17th-18th centuries were a time of violent upheaval for Western European countries, which experienced quite difficult period in its history in connection with the transformation of the socio-political, social and cultural environment. We can say that in these centuries the traditions of the peoples of Europe were tested for strength not only by time, but also by revolutions. During these centuries, states fought for hegemony on the mainland with varying degrees of success. The 16th century passed under the domination of the Austrian and Spanish Habsburgs, the next century - under the clear leadership of France, which was facilitated by the fact of the establishment of absolutism here. The 18th century shook its position largely due to the revolution, wars, and also the internal political crisis.

Expansion of spheres of influence

The next two centuries were marked by major changes in the geopolitical situation in Western Europe. This was due to the fact that some leading states took the path of colonialism. The peoples living in Europe mastered new territorial spaces, primarily North, South American and eastern lands. This significantly influenced the cultural appearance of European states. First of all, this concerns Great Britain, which created an entire colonial empire that covered almost half the world. This led to the fact that it was the English language and English diplomacy that began to influence European development.

Another event had a strong impact on the geopolitical map of the mainland - two world wars. The peoples living in Europe were on the verge of destruction as a result of the devastation caused by the fighting. Of course, all this affected the fact that it was Western European states that influenced the beginning of the process of globalization and the creation of global bodies for resolving conflicts.

Current state

The culture of the peoples of Europe today is largely determined by the process of erasing national borders. The computerization of society, the rapid development of the Internet, as well as widespread migration flows have raised the problem of erasing national distinctive features. Therefore, the first decade of our century passed under the sign of resolving the issue of preserving the traditional cultural appearance of ethnic groups and nationalities. Recently, with the expansion of the globalization process, there has been a tendency to preserve the national identity of countries.

Cultural development

The life of the peoples of Europe is determined by their history, mentality and religion. With all the diversity of paths in the cultural appearance of countries, one general feature of development in these states can be identified: the dynamism, practicality, and purposefulness of processes that occurred at different times in science, art, politics, economics and in society in general. Exactly for the last one characteristic feature indicated famous philosopher O. Spengler.

The history of the peoples of Europe is characterized by the early penetration of secular elements into the culture. This determined the rapid development of painting, sculpture, architecture and literature. The desire for rationalism was inherent in leading European thinkers and scientists, which determined the rapid growth rate of technical achievements. In general, the development of culture on the mainland was determined by the early penetration of secular knowledge and rationalism.

Spiritual life

The religions of the peoples of Europe can be divided into two large groups: Catholicism, Protestantism and Orthodoxy. The first is one of the most common not only on the mainland, but throughout the world. At first it was dominant in Western European countries, but then, after the Reformation that occurred in the 16th century, Protestantism arose. The latter has several branches: Calvinism, Lutheranism, Puritanism, Anglican Church and others. Subsequently, on its basis, separate communities of a closed type arose. Orthodoxy is widespread in countries Eastern Europe. It was borrowed from neighboring Byzantium, from where it penetrated into Rus'.

Linguistics

The languages ​​of the peoples of Europe can be divided into three large groups: Romance, Germanic and Slavic. The first includes: France, Spain, Italy and others. Their features are that they were formed under the influence eastern peoples. In the Middle Ages, these territories were subject to invasion by Arabs and Turks, which undoubtedly affected the development of their speech characteristics. These languages ​​are distinguished by their flexibility, sonority and melodiousness. It is not for nothing that most operas are written in Italian, and in general, it is considered one of the most musical in the world. These languages ​​are quite easy to understand and learn; However, the grammar and pronunciation of French can cause some difficulties.

The Germanic group includes the languages ​​of the northern, Scandinavian countries. This speech is distinguished by its firm pronunciation and expressive sound. They are more difficult to perceive and learn. For example, German It is considered one of the most difficult among European languages. Scandinavian speech is also characterized by the complexity of sentence construction and rather difficult grammar.

The Slavic group is also quite difficult to master. Russian is also considered one of the most difficult languages ​​to learn. At the same time, it is generally accepted that it is very rich in its lexical composition and semantic expressions. It is believed that he has all the necessary means of speech and language to convey the necessary thoughts. It is indicative that it is European languages ​​that different times and centuries were considered world-wide. For example, at first it was Latin and Greek, which was due to the fact that Western European states, as mentioned above, were formed on the territory of the former Roman Empire, where both were in use. Subsequently, Spanish became widespread due to the fact that in the 16th century Spain became the leading colonial power, and its language spread to other continents, primarily to South America. In addition, this was due to the fact that the Austro-Spanish Habsburgs were the leaders on the mainland.

But subsequently France took the leading position, which also took the path of colonialism. That's why French spread to other continents, most notably North America and North Africa. But already in the 19th century it became the dominant colonial state, which determined main role English throughout the world, which continues to be the case in ours. In addition, this language is very convenient and easy to communicate; its grammatical structure is not as complex as, for example, French, and due to the rapid development of the Internet in recent years English has greatly simplified and become almost colloquial. For example, many English words with a Russian sound have come into use in our country.

Mentality and consciousness

The characteristics of the peoples of Europe should be considered in the context of their comparison with the population of the East. This analysis was carried out back in the second decade by the famous culturologist O. Spengler. He noted that for everyone European peoples characteristic, which led to the rapid development of technology, technology and industry in different centuries. It was the latter circumstance that determined, in his opinion, the fact that they very quickly embarked on the path of progressive development, began to actively develop new lands, improve production, and so on. A practical approach became the key to the fact that these peoples achieved great results in the modernization of not only economic, but also socio-political life.

The mentality and consciousness of Europeans, according to the same scientist, from time immemorial have been aimed at not only studying and understanding nature and the reality around them, but also at actively using the results of these achievements in practice. Therefore, the thoughts of Europeans have always been aimed not only at obtaining knowledge in its pure form, but also at using it in transforming nature for their needs and improving living conditions. Of course, the above path of development was also typical for other regions of the world, but it was in Western Europe that it manifested itself with the greatest completeness and expressiveness. Some researchers associate this business consciousness and practically oriented mentality of Europeans with the peculiarities of the geographical conditions of their residence. After all, the majority are small in size, and therefore, in order to achieve progress, the peoples inhabiting Europe began to develop and master various technologies to improve production due to limited natural resources.

Characteristic features of countries

The customs of the peoples of Europe are very indicative of understanding their mentality and consciousness. They reflect them and their priorities. Unfortunately, very often the image of a particular nation is formed in the mass consciousness based on purely external attributes. In this way, labels are applied to one country or another. For example, England is very often associated with primness, practicality and exceptional efficiency. The French are very often perceived as cheerful socialites and open people, easy to communicate with. Italians or, for example, Spaniards seem to be a very emotional nation with a stormy temperament.

However, the peoples inhabiting Europe have a very rich and complex history, which has left a deep imprint on their life traditions and way of life. For example, the fact that the British are considered homebodies (hence the saying “my home is my castle”) undoubtedly has deep historical roots. When there were fierce internecine wars in the country, apparently, the idea was formed that the fortress or castle of some feudal lord was a reliable defense. The British, for example, have another interesting custom, which also dates back to the Middle Ages: in the process of parliamentary elections, the winning candidate literally fights his way to his seat, which is a kind of reference to the time when there was a fierce parliamentary struggle. Also, the custom of sitting on a sack of wool is still preserved, since it was the textile industry that gave impetus to the rapid development of capitalism in the 16th century.

The French still have a tradition of striving to express their nationality in a particularly expressive way. This is due to their turbulent history, especially XVIII century when the country experienced revolution and the Napoleonic wars. During these events, the people felt their national identity especially acutely. Expressing pride in their fatherland is also a long-standing custom of the French, which is manifested, for example, during the performance of the Marseillaise and in our days.

Population

The question of what peoples inhabit Europe seems very complex, especially in view of the recent rapid migration processes. Therefore in this section we should limit ourselves to only a short review of this topic. When describing the language groups above, it was already said which ethnic groups inhabited the mainland. Here it is necessary to identify a few more features. Europe became an arena back in early middle ages. Therefore, its ethnic composition is extremely diverse. In addition, at one time, parts of it were dominated by Arabs and Turks, who left their mark. However, it is still necessary to point out the list of peoples of Europe from west to east (only the largest nations are listed in this series): Spaniards, Portuguese, French, Italians, Romanians, Germans, Scandinavian ethnic groups, Slavs (Belarusians, Ukrainians, Poles, Croats, Serbs , Slovenes, Czechs, Slovaks, Bulgarians, Russians and others). Currently, the issue of migration processes, which threaten to change the ethnic map of Europe, is especially acute. In addition, the processes modern globalization and open borders threaten the erosion of ethnic territories. This issue is now one of the main ones in world politics, so in a number of countries there has been a tendency to maintain national and cultural isolation.