Map Monday, How do we Define Europe and who are the Europeans?

Europe, what exactly is it, and who’s a European? The short answer, it’s a continent comprising the northwestern portion of the Eurasian landmass. Many of Europe’s generally accepted boundaries include large bodies of water. To the north and west, the Atlantic and Arctic oceans mark the edge of Europe. The Mediterranean Sea separates it from Africa. Three other seas, the Aegean, Black, and Caspian form part of the boundary with Asia. The Caucasus and Ural Mountains and Ural River complete the geographical border.

Throw in Iceland and those boundaries match my vintage 1975 Risk board.

European Union (map courtesy of M.Bitton & wikimedia commons)

The geography is all well and good, but which countries are European? Some people might point to the European Union as an answer. The initial seeds for the modern EU emerged in the aftermath of WW1. John Maynard Keynes proposed a European customs union in 1920. While treaties guaranteeing borders were signed, no serious progress was made toward a federal Europe. The calamities of the Great Depression and WW2 created more fertile ground for some of the earlier ideas. Building on early post-war agreements France, Belgium, the Netherlands, West Germany, Italy, and Luxembourg) formed the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). Over the next decades, additional economic, social, and atomic treaties expanded the ECSC into what became the EU.

Who is a European?

For all its achievements, the EU’s 27 member countries represent only 60% of the continent’s population. Major countries like Russia, Ukraine, Norway, and Switzerland remain outside the EU. In 2020 after almost four decades of membership, the UK ceased to be a member. No one would deny that residents of these non-EU countries are Europeans. Inhabitants of the Faeroe Islands are Danes, but unless they declare Denmark as their legal home, they’re not EU citizens. How about the southern Caucasus countries or Turks living on the Sea of Marma’s northern coast? As a half-Armenian, should I check the Asian box on my census form or does my Lithuanian/Polish half make me a European?

Does it really matter? I’d like to think we’re all capable of taking pride in who we are without needing to ostrasize others.