Name: ______________________________ Period ____ Date _________ Ch. 9-10
Five Themes of Geography: Europe
DUE: ________
Directions: Out to the side of each statement (#1-70) decide what theme of geography each statement is
describing.
Intro
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Europe lies west of Asia.
Europe lies north of the Mediterranean Sea.
Most of Europe lies south of the North Sea.
Europe lies east of the Atlantic Ocean.
The English Channel separates England from the rest of Europe.
Fall of the Roman Empire
6. The Roman Empire (the western part that is) fell in 476 AD.
7. The only institution left standing was the Christian Church, based in Rome.
8. The Bishop of Rome was called “the pope.”
9. Over time, missionaries converted the barbarians (non-Christians) to Christianity across Europe.
Barbarian Kingdoms
10. At, first barbarian warlords were on the move; they controlled men, not land.
11. Then they formed barbarian kingdoms.
12. Saxon warlords formed kingdoms in Germany.
13. The Angles and Saxons (warlords) formed the kingdoms in England.
14. Ever since, we refer to the English as being Angle-Saxon.
15. The Vikings (or Norsemen) lived in present day Norway, Sweden and Denmark.
16. The Vikings were barbarians in boats.
17. In the 800s, the Viking raided the coasts of England and France.
18. The Vikings are also known as Norsemen – Norway is “norse” of Europe.
19. In 711, Muslims conquered Spain. They ruled Spain until 1492.
20. The Franks lived in France.
Feudalism: What does feudalism have to do with geography?
Land was power
21. Land was power.
22. In medieval Europe, power belonged to those who controlled the land.
23. The lord distributed land to his vassals.
24. He did not pay rent; he owed military service or loyalty.
Manorialism was an economic system
25. An aristocrat owned a landed estate which was called a manor.
26. Serfs worked the land and grew grain.
The Manor
27. Each manor was economically self-sufficient.
28. The manor provided military protection, church services, and a cultural life.
29. The farmland provided food that was raised by serfs.
30. The forests provided game (animals) for hunting and wood for building and cooking.
31. The river provided fishing.
32. The village provided services (miller, blacksmith, mason) and provided crafts (weaver, cobbler).
Society was based on farming.
33. In Medieval Europe, everybody lived in the countryside.
34. Most folks were peasants and serfs who spend their lives farming to survive.
Europe was perfect for farming
The North European Plain
35. The North European Plain runs along the coast from southeastern England, through France and Germany all
the way to present day Russia.
36. The North European Plain is excellent for farming: It is a flat lowlands that has excellent soil.
37. Because of its good soil, the North European Plain is one of the world’s best farming regions.
38. Farming was great in the river valleys.
39. The majority of farmland grew different types of grains – wheat, barley, oats, and rye.
Climate
40. The climate is not particularly hot or cold; thanks to warms seas, the climate is mild.
41. Thanks to the climate, you could harvest TWO crops of grain once in the spring, once in the fall.
42. The crop was grain (barley, oats, rye) and the main food was bread.
Shortage of Land
43. Thanks to forests and swamps, there was a shortage of good farmland.
44. Forest are great: They provide wood for building homes.
45. Forests provide wood for heating and cooking.
46. Forests are a great place to hunt for deer and other wild game.
47. Hunting was a big deal in medieval Europe.
Forests gave rise to folktales
48. Forests are scary places: Men of our fairy tales came out of medieval forests.
49. The Blank Forest in Germany was the scene of Hansel and Gretel and Goldilocks & the Three Bears.
50. England’s Sherwood Forest was the setting of Robin Hood & his Merry Men.
Europe was perfect for trade
The Rise of towns and trade
51. Trade revived in the 1100s.
52. Towns and cities arose in the 1100s (London, Paris, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Berlin, Hamburg) and each
traded with one another.
No barriers to movement
53. It’s easy to move around Europe.
54. Europe is the only continent with no barriers to movement.
55. Northern Europe has no mountains.
56. Southern Europe has the Alps, but they not a major barrier to movement
57. Far centuries, traders have moved through the mountain passes.
58. Europe is the only continent with no deserts.
Navigable rivers
59. Europe has some of the best navigable rivers in the world.
60. Ships can sail from the ocean, up the river, to a major city.
61. The Thames River runs from London to the English Channel.
62. The Seine River runs from Paris to the North Sea and the Rhine flows into the North Sea from Germany.
63. Almost all modern counties (therefore, most kingdoms in Medieval Europe) had rivers flowing to a sea or
ocean.
Short Distances
64. Europe is a small place; short time travel in modern day.
65. Rome is 700 miles south west of Paris. (Los Angeles, CA is 700 miles west of El Paso, TX)
66. During the Middle Ages, folks from France walked through Europe on their way to the Middle East.
Peninsulas
67. Italy is on the Italian Peninsula.
68. The Vikings or Norsemen lived on the peninsulas of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.
69. The Muslims controlled the Iberian Peninsula- that is Spain and Portugal.
70. Europe is peninsula of peninsulas.