Ancient Slavs and other tribes of Eastern Europe. Greek colonies

Now more than 60 peoples live in Foreign Europe. A motley ethnic mosaic has been formed over several millennia under the influence of both natural and historical factors. The vast plains were convenient for the formation of large ethnic groups. Thus, the Paris Basin became the center of education for the French people, and the German nation was formed on the North German Plain. Rugged, mountainous landscapes, on the contrary, complicated interethnic ties, the most variegated ethnic mosaic is observed in the Balkans and the Alps.

One of the most acute problems of today is inter-ethnic conflicts and national separatism. The confrontation between the Flemings and the Walloons in the 1980s. almost led to a split in the country, which in 1989 became a kingdom with a federal structure. For several decades now, the terrorist organization ETA has been operating, demanding the creation of an independent Basque state in the territories inhabited by the Basques in the north and southwest. But 90% of the Basques oppose terror as a method of achieving independence, and therefore the extremists do not have popular support. The most acute inter-ethnic clashes have been shaking the Balkans for more than a decade. Here one of the main factors is religious.

They have a significant impact on the ethnic composition of Europe. From the 16th to the beginning of the 20th century Europe was a region of predominant emigration, and in the second half of the past century - mass immigration. One of the first waves of mass emigration to Europe was associated with the 1917 revolution in Russia, from where more than 2 million people left. Russian emigrants formed ethnic diasporas in many European countries: France, Germany, Yugoslavia.

Numerous wars and conquests also left their mark, as a result of which most European peoples have a very complex gene pool. For example, the Spanish people were formed on the mixture of Celtic, Romanesque, Arabic blood that lasted for centuries. The Bulgarians bear in their anthropological appearance the indelible signs of 400 years of Turkish rule.

In the post-war period, the ethnic composition of foreign Europe became more complicated due to increased migration from third world countries - former European colonies. Millions of Arabs, Asians, Latin Americans and Africans flocked to Europe in search of a better life. During the 1970-1990s. there were several waves of labor and political emigration from the republics of the former Yugoslavia. Many immigrants not only took root in Germany, France, Great Britain and other countries, but also assimilated and are included in the official statistics of these countries along with the indigenous population. A higher birth rate and active assimilation of newcomer ethnic groups lead to a change in the appearance of modern Germans, French, and British.

The national composition of the states of foreign Europe

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GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS.
ethnic history

population of Western Europe

Western Europe

Western Europe

It is customary to refer to the peoples of Western Europe the ethnic groups inhabiting Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Great Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Malta, Greece, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, Hungary, Romania , Albania and the dwarf states of Europe - Andorra, Luxembourg, San Marino.

Due to a number of historical reasons, the largest peoples and states of Western Europe for long periods - in the ancient era (Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome) and in the II millennium AD. (Great Britain, France, Holland, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Austria, etc.) - occupied a leading position in the world. Their achievements in the economy and culture, influence on world politics contributed to the formation European regionalcivilization.

1. The settlement of Europe by man. Main stepsethnic history

Europe does not belong to the regions in which the formation of mankind took place. However, people have been here for a very long time. Judging by archaeological data, they began to live in this part of the world in the early Paleolithic - no later than 1 million years ago. The oldest paleoanthropological find in Europe dates back 400-450 thousand years from our days. This is the jaw of a Heidelberg man, found in 1907 in Germany (near Heidelberg). Later, other bone fragments were discovered in Europe, the age of which is 300-400 thousand years. For a long time (200-250 thousand - 40 thousand years ago) Neanderthals lived in Europe - another of the known forms of ancient people. By the time of their disappearance (the beginning of the Late Paleolithic), people of the modern look had already appeared in Europe.

In the late Paleolithic (40-13 thousand years ago), people settled almost all of Europe, except for its northernmost part. Their main occupation was hunting large animals. The linguistic affiliation of the inhabitants of Europe at that time is now impossible to establish. In racial terms, the population was, as now, predominantly Caucasoid.

During the Mesolithic (13 thousand - 5 thousand years BC), people also settled in Northern Europe. At the same time, differences arose in the economic activities of the population of different regions of Europe: the tribes living on the coast of the Mediterranean and Baltic Seas were engaged in fishing, on the shores of the North Sea - sea gathering, in the interior - hunting and gathering.

Very early - even in the Mesolithic time - in some areas of Europe, a gradual transition to a productive economy began, and some groups of fishermen domesticated dogs and pigs. One can only make more or less well-founded guesses about the languages ​​of the Mesolithic population of Europe.

In most of Europe, the transition to the Neolithic took place in the 5th millennium BC. (in Northern Greece - by the 7th millennium BC). Even then, the first agricultural and cattle-breeding settlements appeared here. Metallurgy (the use of bronze) originated in Europe in the 6th or 5th millennium BC, the Iron Age began in the 1st millennium BC.

Until the 3rd millennium BC the population of this part of the world spoke almost unknown pre-Indo-European languages. Later, the tribes that used these languages ​​were assimilated by those who came to Europe in the III-II millennium BC. peoples who spoke Indo-European languages. From the ancient non-Indo-European languages ​​​​in Western Europe to our time, the language has survived Basques; it is associated with the language of the ancients vaskonov, living in the Pyrenees and mentioned in ancient sources. From the Indo-European tribes, Europe was the first to penetrate Pelasgians, Greeks (Hellenes), and then Italian and Celtic tribes. In the III-II millennium BC. under the influence of the ancient Eastern cultural centers in the south of Europe, an outstanding Cretan-Mycenaean civilization developed. Her successor was the one that arose in the 1st millennium BC. Hellenic (ancient Greek) civilization, and the successor of the latter - Roman.

During the existence of the Roman Empire (27 BC - 476 AD) in its western part there was a mass Romanization population: the peoples conquered by the Romans gradually acquired the Latin language. However, they mixed Latin with local (native) languages ​​- Iberian, Germanic,Celtic and others - and changed significantly. This is how vulgar (folk)Latin, which gave rise to modern Romance languages.

In the III-VII centuries. AD in Europe there were mass migrations of Germanic, Slavic, Turkic, Iranian and other tribes, which later received the name of the Great Migration of Peoples. A powerful impetus to these migrations was given, in particular, by the Turkic-speaking Huns. They came to Europe in the 4th century. from distant Asian steppes. That was the first meeting of the inhabitants of Europe with the Mongoloids, so the Huns frightened the inhabitants of Europe not only with devastating raids, but also with their very appearance, unusual for Europeans. The Huns defeated the Germanic-speaking tribes Ostrogoths and began to crowd out their relatives vestgotov, living north of the lower Danube. The Visigoths were forced, with the consent of the Roman emperor, to move to the Balkan Peninsula, which was then part of the Roman Empire. In 378 they rebelled and in alliance with the Huns, as well as Iranian-speaking people who came from the east Alans defeated the Roman troops. In 410, the Visigoths captured Rome. After this defeat, the emperor of the Western Roman Empire ceded Aquitaine (the southwestern part of the modern territory of France) to the Visigoths, where in 419 the first German state was formed on the territory of the Western Roman Empire - the Kingdom of Toulouse. Later, the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula also went to the Visigoths. In the northwestern part of it, a Germanic tribe entrenched Suevi. Two other Germanic tribes - burgundy and francs- in the middle of the 5th century. created their own kingdoms (Burgundian and Frankish) on the territory of Gaul. Around the same time, the Germanic tribes Angles, Saxons and yuts began to conquer those abandoned by the Romans at the beginning of the 5th century. The British Isles, which have long been inhabited by various Celtic tribes.

In the middle of the 5th century The Huns, together with the Ostrogoths, invaded Gaul, but were defeated by the combined forces of the Romans and the Germans who settled there, and left for the Danubian plain. From the 6th to the 8th centuries on this plain the dominant positions were occupied Avars. Subsequently, the Huns and Avars completely absorbed into the local population.

In 476, the Western Roman Empire fell under the blows of the Germans, and in 493 those who took part in its defeat Ostrogoths created their own state, covering a vast territory from Central Italy to the Danube. In the north of Italy in the VI century. settled Germanic-speaking tribe Lombards.

Thus, the main component of the Great Migration in Western Europe were the Germanic tribes (Goths, Vandals, Sueves, Burgundians,Lombards, Angles, Saxons, Franks), widely settled in this region and created their own states. The Visigoths and Sueves settled in Spain, the Visigoths and Burgundians, and later the Franks, in France, the Ostrogoths, and then the Lombards and Franks in Italy, the Angles, Saxons and Jutes in England. Part of the Celtic-speaking people who lived on the British Isles Britons was forced to migrate to the mainland, to the north-west of present-day France. They originate from them. Bretons. The fate of the Germans in different parts of Europe evolved differently. In heavily Romanized areas (on the territory of Gaul, Iberia, Italy), differing dialects of Vulgar Latin were preserved, and the Germans were eventually assimilated by the local population. In those areas where Romanization was weak (for example, in Britain), Germanic languages ​​prevailed.

On the territory of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium), the main driving force behind migrations was Slavs. As a result of movements during the V-VII centuries. numerous groups of Slavs settled in the territory from the Black and Aegean Seas to the Adriatic.

In the 8th century Europe was invaded Arabs. They conquered almost the entire Iberian Peninsula, as well as some islands in the Mediterranean Sea, and had a certain cultural impact on the peoples living there. In the ninth century in Central Europe, in the Danube basin, penetrated Magyars(other name - Hungarians). Although anthropologically and culturally, the Magyars were strongly influenced by the ethnic groups settled there, they managed to preserve and pass on to the local population their Ugric language, which is still spoken by the Hungarians.

9th and 10th centuries marked by movement from north to south Normans. They conquered one of the northern regions of France (later called Normandy), but gradually became Romanized there, i.e. switched to French (originated earlier on the basis of the local vernacular Latin), and also experienced cultural influence from the French. In the XI century. the already Romanized Normans conquered England. Through the Normans, England was subjected to strong French influence, it was the Norman conquest that led to the fact that a large layer of Romance vocabulary appeared in the English language. The Normans for some time managed, in addition, to gain a foothold in the south of the Apennine Peninsula and on the island of Sicily. They also mastered Iceland. In all the territories they conquered (except Iceland), the Normans adopted the languages ​​and culture of the local population.

In the XIV-XV centuries. entered Europe Ottoman Turks. They succeeded in capturing Constantinople in 1453, defeating Byzantium and subjugating the Balkans for several centuries.

During the era of feudalism (VIII-XVI centuries), small communities formed in different cities of Europe. Jews. In the XV-XVI centuries. appeared in Europe gypsynot, who gradually settled in small communities in many countries.

The great migration of peoples, migrations and conquests of subsequent centuries played a significant role in shaping the modern ethnic composition of the population of Europe.

2. Modern ethnic and linguistic compositionpopulation of Western Europe

The languages ​​of the vast majority of the peoples of Europe belong to the Indo-European language family. The two largest groups of this family in the region under consideration are Romanesque and Germanic. The ethnic groups of the Romanesque group live mainly in the south-west of Europe and in the Lower Danube basin. These are such numerous peoples as Italians(57 million), French people(47 million), Spaniards(29 million), Romanians(21 million), Portuguese(12 million). Each of them has its own nation-state. The Romanesque group also includes those living mainly in the north-east of Spain. Catalans(8 million), one of the two main peoples of Belgium - Walloons(4 million) settled in northwestern Spain Galicians(3 million) living in Sardinia sardinestsy(1.5 million), inhabiting respectively the western, southern and eastern outskirts of Switzerland Franco-Swiss, Italian seamstresseskings and romance. The Romanesque group also includes frioly and ladins, living in the northeast of Italy; Corsicantsy, inhabiting the island of Corsica, Aromans and Karakachans- in Yugoslavia, Greece and other countries; meglenites, settled in northern Greece; Istro-Romanians, living in the west of Croatia; myselfmarinesi, the indigenous people of San Marino; andorrans, indigenous people of Andorra; Monegasque, inhabitants of Monaco; llanito, or Gibraltarians, living in Gibral.

Not all of these peoples speak distinct languages ​​of their own. The Walloons and Franco-Swiss speak French, Corsicans, Italo-Swiss and Sammarinesi speak Italian, Andorrans speak Catalan, Gibraltarians speak Spanish (along with English), Monegasques speak a mixture of Italian and French. Many southern French people in everyday life communicate in Occitan (Provençal) language.

The peoples of the Germanic group live mainly in the north, northwest and in the center of Europe. To this group belong: Germans (75million),English (45million),Dutch(12 million),Swedes(8 million),austryans(7 million),Flemings (7million),datcanot (5million),Scots (5million),Norse(4 million),German Swiss (4million),hatchsembourgers(0.3 million),Icelanders(near0.3 million),liechtensteiners(20 thousand). Almost all these peoples have their own states (English - together with the Scots,Flemings - with Walloons, German seamstresseskings - with Franco-Swiss, Italian-Swiss and Romansh). Swedes, in addition to Sweden, have long lived in Finland. The German group also includes Alsatians (1.4 million) andLorraine (about 1 million), settled in the east of France ; friezes living in the north of the Netherlands and in very small numbers in Germany ; faroese, living in the Faroe Islands (considered an autonomous part of Denmark) ; Manx inhabiting the British-owned Isle of Man.

Peculiar ethnic status scottishandAnglo-Irish who are the descendants of Scottish and English settlers in Ireland, where they significantly separated from the original ethnic groups.

The German group conditionally includes Jews living in France, England and other countries (1.4 million) - on the basis that in the past for centuries the everyday language of most European Jews was Yiddish, close to the medieval High German language (a small part of European Jews used a related language, Spanish ladino). However, at present, most European Jews communicate in the languages ​​of their countries of residence - French, English, etc.

Among the peoples of the Germanic group, many speak German or English. The German language, besides the Germans, is used by Austrians, German-Swiss, Liechtensteiners, Luxembourgers, Alsatians. However, the Alsatians are bilingual and speak French well; Luxembourgers are trilingual: they speak German, French and their own Lötzeburg (Luxembourgish) dialect, which has its own script. Attempts are being made to develop a written language common in Switzerland Aleman dialecture German language (switzerduytse). The linguistic situation in Germany itself is also peculiar. Although the Germans have one literary language, the country has two spoken languages. They are related, but mutually incomprehensible. it high german, or hochdeutsch(from which the German literary language was created), and low german, or plattdeutsch. Plattdeutsch is common in northern Germany; it is close to Dutch.

In addition to the English, English is currently spoken by the Scots, Scots and Anglo-Irish, as well as the Manx. In the past, the Manx had their own Celtic language, which has completely disappeared.

The linguistic situation in Norway is in a certain sense directly opposite to the German one. With one spoken language, two literary ones have developed here: Bokmål- very close to Danish (it used to be called riksmol) and baby girl(former name - lansmol), which was formed on the basis of West Norwegian dialects. Attempts to "unite" them were not successful, but led to the creation of a third literary language - Samnoshk. However, it has not received any wide distribution.

In addition to the peoples of the Romance and Germanic groups (as well as the ethnic groups of the Slavic group), other peoples of the Indo-European family also live in Europe. Greeks(10 million) form the Greek group. The Celtic group includes Irish(6 million), Welsh (Welsh), Gaelic, living in the British Isles and Bretons, living in northwestern France. It should be noted that at present the Irish can be attributed to the Celtic group to some extent conditionally. Irish, or Irish, is spoken only in the far west of Ireland - in the Gaeltacht region. The rest of the Irish, although they know the Irish language (it is taught at school), mostly use English. Among the Irish there are also bilinguals. Bretons are also bilingual: they use French and Breton. Celts by origin are and Cornish, living in Cornwall, in the southwest of England. The Cornish language was practically dead, but now it is being restored and it is already spoken by hundreds of people, and several thousand more people are studying it. Albanians(5 million) form a separate Albanian group.

Live in Europe and representatives of the Ivdo-Aryan group - gypsies, as well as immigrants from India and Pakistan and their descendants. In Europe, in addition, there are relatively small groups Kurds(Iranian group) and Armenians(Armenian group).

The peoples of the Uralic language family - its Finno-Ugric group - are also settled in Europe. The Ugric subgroup of this group includes Hungarians(13 million), to Finnish - Finns(5 million) and a small nation Saami(otherwise - Lapps), living in the far north of Europe, in the Arctic regions of Norway, Sweden and Finland.

The Afroasian (Semitic-Hamitic) language family includes the language malThais. It is actually a dialect of Arabic, although it uses Latin script. True, at present, most Maltese, along with Maltese, know English and Italian. To the same family belongs the language of those who migrated to Europe, primarily to France, Arabs(2 million people) from Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and other countries.

The Turkic group of the Altai family includes the language Turk, living outside the European part of Turkey mainly in Germany (as migrant workers).

One indigenous people of Europe - Basques- linguistically occupies an isolated position; Basque could not be assigned to any language family. The Basques live in the western Pyrenees, on both sides of the Spanish-French border.

Due to migrants from other regions (Arabs, Turks, Kurds, etc.), the ethnic composition of the population of Europe has become more diverse in recent decades.

In addition to migrations from other parts of the world, Europe is also characterized by intraregional interstate migrations, which also makes the ethnic composition of the population of some countries more diverse. Migrants are naturally attracted to the richest and most developed countries. Their main flows go to France, Great Britain, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Sweden. Italians, Portuguese, immigrants from Spain, Poles go to France, primarily residents of neighboring Ireland go to Great Britain, Italians, Greeks, Portuguese, Serbs, Croats, etc. go to Germany.

3. Anthropological composition of the populationWestern Europe

In racial terms, the modern population of Europe, apart from the now significant group of immigrants from non-European countries, is relatively homogeneous. With the exception of the Saami, who belong to a small Laponoid race, occupying an intermediate position in their physical appearance between Caucasoids and Mongoloids, the main population of Europe belongs to a large Caucasoid race, represented here by all three of its branches: northern, southern and transitional. Each of these branches in turn includes different groups. The population of most of Northern Europe belongs to the Atlanto-Baltic minor race of the northern branch of the Caucasians. She is characterized by very fair skin, blond hair, blue or gray eyes, a long nose, strong beard development in men, and tall stature. This group includes Swedes, Norwegians, Danes, Icelanders, Finns, some Englishmen (mainly in the eastern regions of England), Dutch, northern Germans and some other peoples living in northern Europe.

The peoples of Southern and Southwestern Europe are characterized by different variants of the Indo-Mediterranean and Balkan-Caucasian minor races belonging to the southern branch of the Caucasians. Representatives of the Indo-Mediterranean race have swarthy skin, dark hair, brown eyes, an elongated nose with a somewhat convex back, and a narrow face. The vast majority of Spaniards and Catalans, Galicians, Portuguese, Italians (except northern ones), southern Greeks and Romanians belong to different variants of this small race. The Balkan-Caucasian race is characterized by dark skin, dark hair, dark eyes, a bulging nose, a very strong development of the tertiary hairline, and high growth. This type includes, for example, Albanians and northern Greeks.

The peoples inhabiting the central part of Europe form different variants of the Central European race. It is a transitional group, occupying in its anthropological characteristics an intermediate position between the northern and southern branches. The Central European race is characterized by a more intense pigmentation of the hair and eyes compared to the northern branch, and a somewhat smaller stature. The various variants of the Central European race include the main part of the French and Germans, northern Italians, Walloons, Flemings, the population of Switzerland, Austrians, Hungarians.

4. Confessional composition of the populationWestern Europe

The most common religion of the peoples of Europe is Christianity, represented here by three main directions: Catholicscism, protestantism different currents and Orthodoxy. Catholicism is prevalent primarily in Southwestern and Central Europe. It is professed by the vast majority of believers in Ireland, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Malta, Austria, as well as all dwarf states - Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, Vatican and Liechtenstein. Catholics make up two-thirds of the inhabitants of Hungary (with a significant proportion of Reformed Protestants), form the largest groups (although not an absolute majority) in Switzerland and the Netherlands. There are also many Catholics in Germany, but somewhat fewer than Lutherans. Significant groups of them are also settled in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Many followers of the Roman Catholic Church live in Albania.

The three main currents of Protestantism in Europe are Lutheranssvostvo, Anglicanism and Calvinism. Lutheranism is professed by the vast majority of the population of Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland, as well as more than a third of the inhabitants of Germany, where it is the largest confession. Anglicans make up over half of the believers in Great Britain (both Catholicism and other forms of Protestantism are also common there). In England, Anglicanism is the state religion. Calvinists in Europe live primarily in Switzerland, the Netherlands and Scotland. In Switzerland and the Netherlands, Calvinism is represented by Reformation; in both these countries there are many Catholics. In Scotland, Calvinism is widespread in the form of Presbyterianism, which has the status of a state religion here.

Orthodoxy in Europe is followed by the Greeks, Romanians and part of the Albanians.

There are also small Muslim enclaves in Europe. In the non-Slavic part of Europe, Muslims are the largest religious group in Albania, and Islam predominates in the European part of Turkey as well. In recent decades, the Muslim community in Europe has greatly increased due to Muslim immigrants.

The national composition of the population of foreign Europe is heterogeneous, there are one-national states and states with a complex structure in ethnic terms. What are these countries? What are the main groups distinguished by 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 on this territory for 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. Thus, for example, the French nation was formed on the territory of the Paris Basin, and the German people was formed on the North German Plain.

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

Migration processes 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 the countries of foreign Europe, the number of which amounted to about 2 million people. They formed ethnic diasporas in France, Germany, Great Britain, Switzerland, Italy, Yugoslavia.

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

Since the middle of the 20th century, migration to Europe from former European colonies has intensified. Thus, millions of Asians, Africans, Arabs, Latin Americans permanently settled in foreign Europe. In the 1970s and 1990s, several waves of political and labor migration from Yugoslavia and Turkey were noted. Many of them assimilated in Great Britain, France and Germany, which led to a change in the modern look of the French, British and Germans.

The most acute ethnic problems in Europe are national separatism and ethnic conflicts. As an example, we can recall the confrontation between the Walloons and the Flemish in the 80s in Belgium, which almost split the country. For more than a decade, the radical organization ETA has been operating, which demands the creation of a Basque state in southwestern France and northern Spain. Recently, relations between Catalonia and Spain have escalated, in October 2017 a referendum for independence was held in Catalonia, the turnout was 43 percent, 90% of those who voted for independence, but it was recognized as illegal and null and void.

Types of countries of foreign Europe by national composition

In this regard, they are divided into:

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

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

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 population of Europe belongs to the Indo-European language family. It includes:

• Slavic branch, which is divided into two groups: southern and western. South Slavic languages ​​are spoken by Croats, Slovenes, Montenegrins, Serbs, Macedonians, Bosniaks, and West Slavic languages ​​are spoken by Czechs, Poles, 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,
• Romance branch, the basis of which was the Latin language. This branch includes the following French, Italian, Provencal, 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 people speak) and Albanian (2.5 million people) languages. is also Indo-European. Before the Second World War, there were about 1 million gypsies in Europe, today about 600 thousand of them live in countries of foreign Europe.

Languages ​​spoken in foreign Europe:

• The Uralic language family - its Finno-Ugric branch - Finns, Hungarians, Saami.
• 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 the so-called isolated language, the historical ties 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 - Islam.

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

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

In Switzerland and Germany, Catholics are approximately 50%.

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

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

However, according to the religious principle, it is impossible to judge the national identity of a person. 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 population of Europe

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 self-consciousness of peoples. It was here that national groups began to emerge, the relationship between which created the history of Europe and beyond. Here, population statistics began to develop, taking into account the national composition. But the principles for determining a particular nationality in different countries of Europe were different.

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

In 1872, at the Statistical Congress in St. Petersburg, it was decided to introduce a direct question of nationality into the list of issues of statistical accounting of the country's citizens. However, until the 20s of the 20th century, this solution was not implemented.

All this time, they kept a statistical record of citizens on a religious or linguistic basis. This situation in the population census remained practically until the beginning of the Second World War.

The complexities of ethnic statistics at present

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 data are based on the registration of nationality in five European countries: Albania (1945, 1950, 1960 census), Bulgaria (1946, 1956 census), Romania (1948, 1956 census), Czechoslovakia (1950 census) 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 language, many peoples speak the same language, for example, the Swiss, Germans, Austrians speak German. In addition, many peoples completely assimilated into the territory to which they moved, and the concept of "native language" as a determinant of ethnicity does not work in this case.

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. First, in these countries the concept of "nationality" is synonymous with "citizenship"; secondly, in some countries there is a relatively homogeneous national composition (Iceland, Portugal, Denmark, Ireland); thirdly, in some countries, relatively accurate information is available only for individual peoples, for example, for the Welsh in Great Britain.

Thus, the poor development of statistics on the national question and the multiple changes in the political borders of states 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 number of peoples of foreign Europe was not exactly the same throughout the centuries of history.

In the Middle Ages, the number of Romanesque peoples increased fastest of all, since they were more developed culturally and economically. In modern times, the German and Slavic peoples intercepted the championship.

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

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

Factors affecting the dynamics of the number of peoples of foreign Europe

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

The population dynamics of a particular nation is affected by the birth rate and mortality rate, but most of all it depends on the degree of its assimilation in the country of residence. Many migrants of the second and third generations lose their national identity, having almost completely assimilated. So, 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-ethnic countries and countries where the vast majority are representatives of a particular nation. There are very few countries that are ethnically complex, but national issues in them are very acute.

No matter what anyone says, but the Russians are a great nation, which plays a rather significant role in the development of the modern world. And taking into account the centuries-old history, it is worth considering what kind of wisdom is present in this nation, and what contribution it has made to the overall progress of mankind. Today, many people, most often politicians, the nation “Russians” is unreasonably belittled. Let's look at the stages of its development and formation, so that later no one would doubt its significance in the history of mankind.

The nation "Russians" as an ethnographic group

Let's start with some dry facts. It is believed that the Russians, or as they have been called since ancient times, the Russians, belong to the ethnographic Slavic group. It goes without saying that the definition of any nation, as such, is built on the basis of territorial belonging, common moral and cultural values, as well as some common physiological similarities.

In general, the nation “Russians” belongs to the Slavic branch of the development of mankind, but in the general sense, it is a Caucasoid type of race (one of the most numerous among the entire population of our planet). Consider all aspects of its origin and evolution from several points of view.

Russians are a European Nation: Anthropology

If we talk about the nation itself, then the first emphasis should be on some distinctive features of the same appearance, which differs quite a lot from some other peoples.

First of all, it is necessary to note some external signs by which a Russian (Slav) can be distinguished from all other representatives of mankind. Firstly, there is a predominance of brown-haired women over blondes and brunettes. Secondly, these people are characterized by reduced growth of eyebrows and beards. Thirdly, representatives of this nation have a moderate width of the face, weak development of the superciliary arches and a slightly sloping forehead. Fourth, we can note the presence of a moderate horizontal profile with a high nose bridge.

But this is all purely scientific. The nation "Russians" should be considered not only from the point of view of some physiology or belonging to the place of residence, but rather from the point of view of culture, epic and consciousness. Agree, because the understanding of the same issue among Russians, Scandinavians or Americans can have different options. All this is due to history.

History we don't know about

The fact that Russians live on the Eurasian continent, unfortunately, misleads many. It wasn't always like that. In the light of recent discoveries, it is worth tracing the history of the nation.

Of course, the mention of such a mythical country as Hyperborea may seem like a utopia to someone. It is believed that it existed in the form of an island state like the same Atlantis, but only in a place today called the Arctic. After the global cataclysms that occurred about 12 thousand years ago, representatives of that race, due to a sharp cold snap, began to migrate south, populating the current Central and Eastern European territories. In addition, this, as it is believed, disappeared civilization gave the world a huge legacy - Vedic wisdom. Even skeptics do not doubt this fact.

Over time, that people divided, mixed with other representatives of humanity, but the main cultural and physiological differences from other nationalities remained, uniting into a race that today is commonly called the Slavs. It includes three main nationalities, only then distributed according to certain ethnic characteristics: Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians. But such a division happened much later than when there was a single nation "Russians".

But that's not all. Some modern historians claim that the Russians are a nation of slaves. It can be attributed, perhaps, to the dominance of the Soviet past. However, many of these "writers" would be worth delving into history. In fact, if anyone does not know, the nation of slaves is called the Jews, who, under the leadership of Moses, made the exodus from Egypt. So, do not confuse different things.

Russian folk tales and folklore

The very same nation "Russians", its traditions and life of those times is associated with the appearance of a kind of folklore. Of course, any nation has fairy tales and tales in the form of a national epic that is passed down from generation to generation, but it is Russian wisdom that has a rather interesting character.

Of course, it is not as heavily veiled as, for example, nevertheless, any more or less literate person knows from childhood that "a fairy tale is a lie, but there is a hint in it ..." What is most interesting is that in Some fairy tales contain real information about the past, despite not some abstract or non-existent images. Researchers of five lakes with healing water near the Okunevo settlement in the Omsk region claim that they have come to understand that fairy tales contain a hidden meaning that may implicitly point to real things or events that took place in ancient times. It is not for us to judge whether this is so or not, nevertheless ...

But what's most interesting! Ershov, who wrote his fairy tale "The Little Humpbacked Horse" at the age of less than 19, composed it in this place, and the boilers in which you had to swim represent the sequence of entering the water of all lakes (in his time only three main lakes were known) .

What did the Russian

In general, let no one be offended, the Russians are the titular nation, which in the near future will lead all of humanity. Russia (Western Siberia) will become not only the main cultural, but also the religious center of the whole world. By the way, one of such legendary prophets as Edgar Cayce spoke about this. A recently interpreted verse was also found in the quatrains of Nostradamus.

As for the cultural heritage, here, no matter what anyone says, it is simply impossible to argue. Look, after all, almost all classics of literature or music include the names of Russian figures. And what can we say about such sciences as physics and chemistry? Only Lomonosov and Mendeleev are worth something.

Misconceptions and speculation about Russian people

Unfortunately, in Western society one can often find some associations with the type of nationalities. So, for example, the nation "Russians" is often associated with a bear playing the balalaika (usually drunk).

Yes, people like to kiss the “green snake”, but our man never drinks himself. Look, it’s not without reason that they offer to “think for three”?

On the other hand, even the tradition of serving bread and salt when meeting a guest or a stranger at home has also become almost international. And this is only the most famous, but if you dig deeper, you can find so many interesting things in history and everyday life that you will have to spend whole years and even decades on a description.

Aryan legacy

Of course, it can be argued that the Russians are the best nation, however, from the point of view of respect for other peoples, it is incorrect to do this. There was already one person in history who put the nation above all. I mean Adolf Hitler. He believed that the ancient Aryans from the already mentioned Hyperborea were the forefathers of the Germans.

Russian nation today and tomorrow

In the light of recent discoveries, as it turned out, the Fuhrer was absolutely wrong. The Aryans were the ancestors of the Slavs, who later spread across the Eurasian continent, but certainly not the Germans, who are more similar to the Scandinavians or the Anglo-Saxons.

However, if we talk about the Russian nation today, even if it still cannot lead the world movement for cleansing from filth, nevertheless, this day is not far off. Who has doubts, read the predictions of those who have never been wrong - Wang and Edgar Cayce. Indeed, according to them, it is Russia and the “Russian” nation that will become the stronghold that will give refuge to the saved civilization.

Instead of an afterword

Even biblical sources in a modern interpretation claim that peace will come only if there is a union, and this is the West and the East, and the role of the east is assigned precisely to the Russian people. And no "Uncle Sam" can prevent this. The reason, alas, is tritely simple: by that time the United States will simply not be on the world map. And is that why the States are trying so hard to put pressure on Russia (or maybe even “bite off” some of the territories that do not belong to them for their own survival?). I just want to answer: “Do not wake the sleeping Russian bear!”. And then, you know, he can not only play the balalaika or drink vodka, but also crush anyone who dares to poke his nose into his lair. And if he is also in a sleeping state, then certainly no American special forces will help.

Hpeoples of foreignEurope

The growth of the population of Foreign Europe, as discussed in Chapter I of this work, had some peculiarities. According to available statistics, the population of foreign Europe over the past three centuries (due to a significant decrease in mortality) has grown faster than in other parts of the world.

General information about overseas emigration), the population growth rate began to decline, and at present, Foreign Europe is in last place in the world in terms of population growth.

By the middle of 1959, the total population in the countries of Foreign Europe was 421.3 million people, having increased by almost 40 million compared to the pre-war population (1938). This increase would, of course, be even more significant if it were not for huge human losses and a decrease in the birth rate during the war years; suffice it to point out that the direct military losses of the population alone amounted to over 15 million people. It should be emphasized that although the population of almost all European countries was drawn into the war, its influence on the dynamics of the number of individual peoples was far from being the same; very indicative in this respect is the sharp decrease in the number of the Jewish population of Europe, as well as the significant decrease in the number of Poles, Germans, and others. We will dwell on the characteristics of these phenomena below.

According to the data for the middle of 1961, the total population of Foreign Europe amounted to over 428 million people and continues to increase by about 3.5 million people a year. Most European countries are characterized by low mortality (from 9 to 12%) and an average birth rate (from 15 to 25%). The rate of natural increase in the population of foreign Europe as a whole is lower than in other parts of the world, however, significant differences are observed in individual European countries. The highest natural increase, associated, as a rule, with increased fertility, was noted in the countries of Eastern and South-Eastern Europe (Albania, Poland, etc.) and in Iceland, the lowest - in the countries of Central Europe (GDR / Luxembourg, Austria). The development of medicine and the associated decrease in mortality in European countries has led to an increase in average life expectancy. In countries with low fertility, this has been accompanied by an increase in the percentage of older people. Currently, for every 100 people under the age of 20 there are elderly people (over 60 years old) in Belgium - 59, Great Britain - 55, Sweden - 53, etc. This process of "aging" of nations puts some countries in front of serious problems (care for the elderly, a declining percentage of the productive population, etc.).

The modern ethnic composition of Foreign Europe has developed in the course of a long historical process of development and interaction of numerous peoples who differed from each other in anthropological characteristics, language and culture. However, these differences, perhaps due to the relatively small size of Foreign Europe itself, were not as significant as in other parts of the world. The predominant part of the population of Foreign Europe, according to anthropological characteristics, belongs to a large Caucasoid race, subdivided into two main parts (small races) - the southern Caucasoid (or Mediterranean) and the northern Caucasoid, between which numerous transitional types can be traced.

The population of Foreign Europe speaks mainly the languages ​​of the Indo-European linguistic family. The largest language groups of this family are Slavic, Germanic and Romance. Slavic peoples (Poles, Czechs, Bulgarians, Serbs, etc.) occupy Eastern and Southeastern Europe; Romance peoples (Italians, French, Spaniards, etc.) - Southwestern and Western Europe; Germanic peoples (Germans, British, Dutch, Swedes, etc.) - Central and Northern Europe. The peoples of other language groups of the Indo-European family - Celtic (Irish, Welsh, etc.), Greek (Greeks), Albanian (Albanians) and Indian (Gypsies) - are not numerous. In addition, a fairly significant part of the population of Foreign Europe belongs to the Uralic language family, represented by the peoples of the Finnish (Finns and Saami) and Ugric (Hungarians) groups. The Semitic-Hamitic language family includes in Europe, a small people of the Semitic group - the Maltese, to the Altai family - the peoples of the Turkic group (Turks, Tatars, Gagauz). The Basque language occupies a separate place in the system of linguistic classification. Among the population of foreign Europe there are many people whose language belongs to other language groups and families, but almost all of them are relatively recent immigrants from Africa, Asia and America.

Formation of the ethnic composition of foreign Europeis rooted in deep ancientness. One of the most important stages of this process is the emergence of the Roman Empire and the spread of the Latin language (“Vulgar Latin”) among its peoples, on the basis of which the Romance languages ​​subsequently formed, as well as the period of long migrations across Europe of various tribes and peoples that followed the fall of the Roman Empire. (the so-called era of the great migration of peoples - III-IX centuries AD). It was during this period that the German-speaking peoples spread across Central and Northern Europe, penetrating, in particular, the British Isles, and began to move east, and the Slavic peoples settled in Eastern Europe and occupied almost the entire Balkan Peninsula. The migration in the 9th century had a great influence on the ethnic history of the countries of Eastern and Southeastern Europe. Ugric tribes from the Urals to the region of the middle reaches of the Danube, and then, in the XIV-XV centuries, the capture of the Balkan Peninsula by the Turks and the settlement of significant groups of the Turkish population there.

Europe is the birthplace of capitalism and national movements. The overcoming of feudal fragmentation, the development of economic and cultural ties, the spread of a common literary language, etc., created the conditions for the formation of a national community. However, this process was different in different countries. It manifested itself most clearly in the large economically developed centralized states of Western and Northern Europe (France, Angkia, etc.) ”Among the peoples that make up the majority of the population and occupy a dominant position in these states (French, British, etc.), and essentially ended there back in the 17th and 18th centuries. The political fragmentation of some countries of Central and Southern Europe (Germany, Italy), national oppression in the countries of Eastern Europe included in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Turkish rule in Southeastern Europe slowed down the processes of national consolidation, however, here in the second half of the 19th century. most of the large nations that exist today (German, Czech, etc.) The formation of some nations (Polish, Romanian, etc.) was essentially completed only after the First World War, when, as a result of the victory of the Great October Socialist Revolution in Russia and the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, these peoples were reunited in new state formations. After the end of World War II, states of people's democracy arose in the countries of Eastern Europe (Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania, etc.), where the transformation of the old bourgeois nations (Polish, Romanian, etc.) into socialist nations began; this process is currently in its final stages.

As for the small peoples, and especially the national minorities of the countries of foreign Europe, the process of their national development was slowed down, and in a number of cases even stopped altogether. At present, ethnic assimilation is highly developed among such national minorities; being drawn into the general economic and cultural life of the country and not having sufficiently favorable conditions for the development of their language and national culture, they gradually merge with the main nationality of the country. For example, significant groups of Catalans and Galicians in Spain, Bretons in France, Scots and Welsh in Great Britain, Frisians in the Netherlands, Friuli in Italy and some other smaller peoples no longer have a clear national identity. It should be noted that in some European countries the processes of ethnic consolidation continue to develop - the merger of two or more peoples into new nations. In Switzerland and partly in Belgium, where multilingual population groups are involved in these processes, evidence of consolidation is the strengthening of economic and cultural communication, accompanied by the growth of bilingualism; in the Netherlands, where peoples with related languages ​​participate in ethnic consolidation, this is also evidenced by the spread of a new common ethnic name - "Dutch".

A great influence on the formation of the ethnic composition of the countries of Foreign Europe in the last hundred years, when the contours of the main nationalities had already been completely determined, was exerted by the migration of the population from one country to another in search of work, as well as for political or other reasons. Significant population migrations occurred in the first half of the 20th century. In 1912-1913. as a result of the Balkan wars, significant groups of the Turkish population moved from the countries of the Balkan Peninsula to Turkey. This process resumed in 1920-1921. during the Greco-Turkish War and continued in subsequent years; Until 1930, about 400 thousand Turks moved from Greece to Turkey, and about 1200 thousand Greeks moved to Greece from Turkey. After the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, significant groups of Austrians and Hungarians left the newly formed states (Romania, Czechoslovakia, etc.) and left for Austria and Hungary, respectively. In the period between the first and second world wars, the migration of the population, caused by economic reasons, was widely developed, and the main migration flows went from the east and south to the west and north, i.e. from the industrially backward capitalist countries (Poland, Romania, etc.). ) to more developed countries with low natural population growth (France, Belgium, etc.). For example, in France, according to the 1931 census, there were 2,714,000 foreigners and 361,000 naturalized, that is, those who had taken French citizenship. To these migrations we Already in the prewar years, migration for political reasons (political emigrants and Jews from Germany and Austria to Great Britain and other countries, refugees from Francoist Spain to France, etc.)

The events of the Second World War caused new significant shifts in the population associated with the flight and evacuation of the civilian population from the areas of military operations and from the territory occupied by the Germans, the forced export of workers to Germany, etc. The resettlement that arose during the war years and continued in the post-war years was of great importance. significant groups of people of various nationalities from one country to another.

The strongest changes in the national composition occurred in a number of countries in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, which was primarily due to a sharp reduction in the German population in these countries. Before the start of the war in the east and southeast of Europe, outside the modern borders of the GDR and the FRG, mainly in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Hungary and Romania, there were over 12 million Germans. Some of them, after the defeat of Germany, left with the retreating German troops, and the bulk were resettled from there after the war, in 1946- 1947, in accordance with the decisions of the Potsdam Conference in 1945; at present there are about 700,000 Germans left in these countries.

The Jewish population has greatly decreased, the number of which in the countries of foreign Europe (mainly in Poland, Romania and Hungary) was over 6 million people in 1938, and now it is only about 13 million people (mainly in Great Britain, France, Romania). The decline in the Jewish population is caused by the mass extermination of it by the Nazis and (to a lesser extent) by the post-war migrations of Jews to Palestine (and then to Israel) and other countries of the world. Speaking about the changes in the ethnic composition in the countries of Eastern Europe during the war or immediately after it, one should also mention a series of population exchanges (mutual repatriations) associated either with the establishment of new state borders (population exchange between Bulgaria and Romania, Poland and the USSR, Czechoslovakia and USSR, Yugoslavia and Italy), or with the desire of states to achieve greater homogeneity of their national composition (population exchange between Hungary and Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Yugoslavia, etc.). In addition, part of the Turkish population of Bulgaria moved to Turkey, and part of the Armenian population from the countries of South-Eastern and Western Europe - to Soviet Armenia, etc.

The impact of the events of the Second World War on the change in the national composition of the countries of Central, Western and Northern Europe was small and was expressed mainly in the influx of population groups there from the countries of Eastern and South-Eastern Europe. The bulk of the arrivals were refugees and so-called displaced persons, in the majority - former prisoners of war and citizens brought to Germany for forced labor (Poles, Ukrainians, Latvians, Lithuanians, Estonians, peoples of Yugoslavia, etc.); a significant part of them (over 500 thousand people) after the end of the war was not repatriated by the Western authorities and were forced to settle permanently in Great Britain, Germany, France, Belgium and other countries. It should be noted that after the war, migrations of the population, caused by economic reasons, resumed; they were sent mainly from Italy and Spain to France and partly to Belgium; quite significant groups of immigrants also settled in Sweden and Great Britain. Of great interest is the increase in this period of migration of low-skilled workers to Europe from other parts of the world, in particular the migration of Algerian (Muslim) workers from Algeria to France and the migration of Negroes whom the population of the Antilles (mainly from Jamaica) to the UK.

All countries of Foreign Europe can be divided into three main groups according to the complexity of their national composition: 1) single-ethnic, mainly countries with small (less than 10%) groups of national minorities; 2) countries with a significant percentage of representatives of national minorities and multinational countries with a sharp numerical predominance of one nationality; 3) multinational countries in which the largest nationality is less than 70% of the total population.

The vast majority of countries in foreign Europe have a relatively homogeneous national composition. Ethnically complex countries are few; the national question in them solved differently. In the capitalist countries of Western Europe, national minorities usually do not have the opportunity to develop their own language and culture and are doomed to be absorbed by the main nationality of the country; in some countries, as, for example, in Francoist Spain, a policy of their forcible assimilation is pursued. In the people's democracies of Eastern Europe, large national minorities have received national-territorial autonomies, where they have all the conditions for economic and cultural development.

Finishing a brief description of the ethnic composition of the population of Europe and the processes of its formation, let us dwell on the religious composition of its population. Europe is the birthplace of three main branches of Christianity: Catholicism, which is widespread mainly in the countries of Southern and Western Europe; Orthodoxy, practiced mainly in the countries of South-Eastern Europe, which were in the past under the influence of Byzantium; Protestantism, widespread in the countries of Central and Northern Europe. Orthodoxy is professed by the majority of believing Greeks, Bulgarians, Serbs, Macedonians, Montenegrins, Romanians and part of the Albanians; Catholicism - almost all believers of the Romance peoples (Italians, Spaniards, Portuguese, French, etc.), as well as believers of some Slavic (Poles, Czechs, most Slovaks, Croats, Slovenes) and Germanic peoples (Luxembourgers, Flemings, part of the Germans and Dutch , Austrians), as well as the Irish, part of the Albanians, most of the Hungarians and Basques. The Reformation movement spun off numerous Protestant churches from the Catholic Church. Protestants, at present, are the majority of believing Germans, Franco-Swiss, Dutch, Icelanders, English, Scots, Welsh, Ulsters, Swedes, Danes, Norwegians and Finns, as well as part of the Hungarians, Slovaks and German-Swiss. Part of the population of the countries of South-Eastern Europe (Turks, Tatars, Bosnians, the majority of Albanians, part of the Bulgarians and Gypsies) professes Islam. The majority of the Jewish population of Europe professes Judaism.

The religious factor played a significant role in the ethnic history of the countries of Foreign Europe and influenced, in particular, the ethnic division of some peoples (Serbs with Croats, Dutch with Flemings, etc.). At present, in all European countries, and especially in the countries of the socialist camp, the number of non-believers is rapidly growing.

Slavic group. Settlement of European peoples.

living in foreign Europe the peoples of the Slavic language group depour on the western and southern Slavs, to the westernSlavs include the largest Slavic people of foreign Europe - the Poles (29.6 million), among whose ethnographic groups the Kashubians and Mazurs stand out. Poles make up the vast majority of the population in all regions of Poland, except for some eastern regions, where they live together with Ukrainians and Belarusians. Outside of Poland, the Poles are mainly settled in the adjacent regions of the USSR (1.4 million people in total, mainly in the Byelorussian and Lithuanian SSR) and Czechoslovakia (Ostrava region). Large groups of Poles who emigrated in the past from Poland,settled in the countries of Western Europe (in France - 350 thousand, Great Britain - 150 thousand, Germany - 80 thousand, etc.). and especially in the countries of America (USA - 3.1 million, Canada - 255 thousand, Argentina, etc.). To the west of the Poles, in the territories of the GDR, in the basin of the river. Spree, settled Lusatians, or Sorbs -a small nationality (120 thousand), living among the German population for a long time and having experienced a strong influence of the German language and culture. To the south of the Poles, in Czechoslovakia, live the Czechs (9.1 million people) and related Slovaks (4.0 million people). Czechs,inhabiting the western half of the country, include a number of ethnographic groups, among which the most famous are the moves, lyakhs and horaks (gonakhs); among the Slovaks, Moravian Slovaks close to the Czechs stand out, as well as the Vlachs, whose language (occupies an intermediate position between the Slovak and Polish languages. In the post-war period, large groups of Slovaks moved to the western regions of the Czech Republic, formerly occupied by the Germans. Outside the country, significant groups of Slovaks live in Hungary , Czechs and Slovaks - in Yugoslavia (Czechs - 35 thousand, Slovaks - 90 thousand people), Romania and the USSR. In the past, many Czech and Slovak emigrants settled in the countries of America: USA (Czechs - 670 thousand, Slovaks - 625 thousand . person), Canada, etc.

The southern Slavs include the Bulgarians (6.8 million), who got their name from the ancient Turkic-speaking people who moved to the Western Black Sea region and dissolved among the local Slavic tribes. Bulgarians - the main nationality of Bulgaria - densely populate its territory, with the exception of small eastern and southern regions, where they live together with the Turks, and the southwestern part of the country, occupied by Macedonians related to Bulgarians. Among the ethnographic groups of the Bulgarian people, the Pomaks stand out, who adopted in the 16th-17th centuries. Islam and strongly influenced by Turkish culture, as well as Shoptsy, who retained many elements of the old traditional Bulgarian culture. Outside of Bulgaria, the most significant groups of Bulgarians live in the USSR (324 thousand people - mainly in the south of Ukraine and Moldova) and in the border regions of Yugoslavia. The Macedonians (‘1.4 million) are very close to the Bulgarians in terms of language and culture - a people that has developed on the territory of Macedonia. Macedonian is essentially intermediate between Bulgarian and Serbo-Croatian. The Serbo-Croatian language is spoken by the peoples of Yugoslavia - Serbs (7.8 million), Croats (4.4 million), Bosnians (1.1 million) and Montenegrins (525 thousand). A large role in the ethnic division of these four monolingual peoples was played by the religious factor - the adoption of Orthodoxy by the Serbs and Montenegrins, the Croats - Catholicism, the Bosnians - Islam. In Yugoslavia, each of these peoples has its own republic, but a significant part of them are settled in stripes (especially within the People's Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina). Outside of Yugoslavia, a small number of Serbs live in the neighboring regions of Romania and Hungary, Croats live in Austria (Burgenland). There is a population in Hungary (the so-called Bunjevtsy, Šoktsy, etc.) speaking the Serbo-Croatian language and occupying, as it were, an intermediate position between Serbs and Croats; most researchers attribute them to the Serbs. The main flow of Serbian and Croatian emigrants in the past went to the countries of America (USA, Argentina, etc.). A somewhat isolated place among the South Slavic peoples is occupied by Slovenes (1.8 million), who in the past experienced the influence of German and Italian culture. In addition to Yugoslavia, where Slovenes compactly populate the territory of their autonomous republic (Slovenia), a small part of them live in Italy (Julian Kraina) and Austria (Carinthia), where Slovenes are gradually assimilated with the surrounding population - Italians and Austrians.

German group. The largest people of foreign Europe belongs to the Germanic group - the Germans (73.4 million people), whose spoken language reveals strong dialectological differences (High German and Low German dialects), and they themselves retain the division into ethnographic groups (Swabians, Bavarians, etc.). The ethnic borders of the German nation now almost exactly coincide with the borders of the GDR and the FRG, outside of them there are only scattered, although relatively large groups of Germans: in Austria (mostly recent settlers from Eastern Europe - only 300,000), Romania (395 thousand), Hungary (about 200 thousand) and Czechoslovakia (165 thousand), as well as in the eastern regions of the USSR (total 1.6 million). The overseas emigration of Germans led to the formation of large groups of them in the countries of America, especially in the USA (5.5 million), Canada (800 thousand) and Brazil (600 thousand), as well as in Australia (75 thousand). Various dialects of the High German dialect are spoken by Austrians close to the Germans by origin (6.9 million), some of whom (South Tyroleans - 200 thousand people) live in the northern regions of Italy, Germano-Swiss, and also heavily influenced by the French language and culture Alsatians (1.2 million with Lorraine) and Luxembourgers (318 thousand). A large number of Austrians emigrated to the USA (800 thousand) and other overseas countries.

In the coastal regions of the North Sea, two peoples close in language and origin live - the Dutch (10.9 million) and the Flemings (5.2 million); The Flemings of Belgium look forward to it, and almost all the Flemings of France also speak French. A significant number of Dutch and Flemings moved to the United States and Canada. On the coast of the North Sea, mainly in the Netherlands, live the Frisians (405 thousand) - the remnants of the ancient German tribes, strongly assimilated by the Dutch, Danes and Germans.

Northern Europe is inhabited by four peoples related by origin and close in language: Danes (4.5 million), Swedes (7.6 million), Norwegians (3.5 million) and Icelanders (170 thousand). The ethnic territories of the Danes and Norwegians roughly coincide with the territory of their nation-states; As for the Swedes, a rather large group of them (370,000) lives in the coastal regions of Western and Southern Finland and on the Åland Islands. A significant number of emigrants from the Nordic countries live in the USA (Swedes - 1.2 million, Norwegians - 900 thousand) and Canada.

The Germanic language group also includes English, the dialects of which are spoken by three peoples of the British Isles: English (42.8 million), Scots (5.0 million) and Ulster (1.0 million). It should be noted that the national identity of the inhabitants of Northern Ireland - the Ulsters, who are for the most part the descendants of English and Scottish colonists who mixed with the Irish, is not clearly expressed. All these peoples gave many emigrants to other parts of the world, especially to North America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, making up the main ethnic component there "In the formation of new nations - American, Australian, etc. At present, a large number of English and Scots recent emigrants, located in Canada (English - 650 thousand, Scots - 250 thousand), USA (English - 650 thousand, Scots - 280 thousand), Australia (English - 500 thousand, Scots - 135 thousand) and countries of South Africa (Rhodesia, South Africa, etc.).

It is customary to include European Jews (1.2 million) in the German group, most of whom use the Yiddish language, close to German, in everyday life. Almost all Jews speak the languages ​​of the surrounding population and are closely connected with it economically, politically and culturally. After the events of World War II and the emigration of Jews to Palestine (and then to Israel), large groups of Jews remained, as noted above, in Great Britain and France, mainly in large cities. In addition, many Jews who emigrated in the past from European countries live in the USA (5.8 million people), Argentina and other American states.

Roman group. The largest European people of the Romance group at present are the Italians (49.5 million), whose ethnic boundaries roughly coincide with the state borders of Italy. Spoken Italian has retained strong dialectological differences. Among the ethnographic groups of the Italian people, the Sicilians and Sardinians stand out in particular; some scholars even consider the language of the latter to be independent. Italy is a country of mass emigration: many Italians live in industrialized (developed countries of Europe (France - 900 thousand, Belgium - 180 thousand, Switzerland - 140 thousand and up.) and especially in the countries of America (mainly in the USA - 5.5 million, Argentina - 1 million, Brazil - 350 thousand, etc.); a small number of them settled in the countries of North Africa (Tunisia, etc.) - Italo-Swiss (200 thousand), living in southeastern Switzerland, speak Italian dialects (200 thousand). (260 thousand) - the indigenous population of the island of Corsica - they speak a language that is essentially a dialect of Italian. In northern Italy and southern Switzerland, Romansh peoples live - Friuls, Ladins and Romanches (400 thousand in total) - the remnants of the ancient Romanized Celtic population, whose language remains very close to Old Latin.The number of Romansh is gradually declining due to merging with the larger peoples surrounding them (Friuls and Ladins of Italy - with Italians; Ladins and Romansh of Switzerland - with Germano-Swiss).

The French (39.3 million) are divided by language into northern and southern, or Provencals; the dialect of the Provencals, which reveals a strong affinity for the Italian language, was in the past an independent language, and the Crowvansals themselves were a separate people. The French compactly populate the territory of France, with the exception of the Brittany Peninsula, where the Bretons are settled, and the eastern departments, where the Alsatians and Lorraine live. Outside of France, there are significant groups of French people in Italy, Belgium and Great Britain; the groups of the French-speaking population of the Channel Islands, descended from the Normans, represent a special ethnographic group of the French people. Large groups of French settlers are in African countries (especially in Algeria - 10 million, Morocco - 300 thousand and on Reunion Island) and in the USA (800 thousand in total, a third of them are descendants of French colonists of the 17th century in Louisiana) . Dialects of the French language are also spoken by the Franco-Swiss (1.1 million) living in the western regions of Switzerland, and the Walloons (3.8 million) inhabiting the southern regions of Belgium. Many Franco-Swiss also know German, a small part of the Walloons - Flemish.

The extreme west of the Iberian Peninsula is inhabited by the Portuguese (9.1 million) and the Galicians close to them in origin (2.4 million), who speak an ancestral dialect of the Portuguese language (the so-called Gallego). The largest people of the Iberian Peninsula are the Spaniards (22.1 million), among whom the division into a number of ethnographic groups remains (Andalusians, Aragonese, Castilians, etc.) and noticeable dialectal differences are observed. Catalans (5.2 million) live in eastern Spain and adjacent regions of France; their language is close to the Provençal dialect of French. Through its assimilation policy, the Spanish government has forcibly planted the Spanish language among the Catalans and Galicians over the past decades. Large groups of emigrants from Spain and Portugal are in France, in the countries of America (Argentina, Brazil, etc.) and in their former and still surviving African colonies (Morocco, Angola, etc.).

A special place among the peoples of the Romance group is occupied by the Romanians (15.8 million), whose language and culture were strongly influenced by the Slavs. Outside of Romania, they are compact (groups of them live in the adjacent regions of Yugoslavia and Hungary, significant groups of them are in immigration countries (especially in the USA). areas of Greece, Macedonia, Serbia and Albania and gradually merging with the surrounding population.Meglens living in southern Macedonia are often referred to as Aromunians, although they speak a special dialect.The total number of Aromunians is 160 thousand people.In eastern parts of the Istrian peninsula (Yugoslavia) are inhabited by Istro-Romanians - a small nationality, leading its origin from the ancient Romanized Illyrian population. At present, the Istro-Romanians have almost completely merged with the Croats.

Celtic group. The Celtic-speaking peoples, who in the past occupied vast areas in Central and Western Europe, were forced out or assimilated by the Romanesque and Germanic peoples. At present, this group includes three peoples of the British Isles - the Irish (4.0 million), the indigenous inhabitants of Wales - the Welsh (1.0 million) and the inhabitants of Northern Scotland - the Gaels (100 thousand), although the bulk of all these peoples use English. The inhabitants of the Isle of Man, who once spoke a special language of the Celtic group, are now completely assimilated by the British. The inhabitants of "north-western France" belong to the same group - Bretons (1.1 million), most of whom also speak French. Irish is close to Gaelic, Welsh to Breton. Ireland is a country of mass emigration, size which are so large that they lead to a decrease in the absolute number of its population, many Irish are in Great Britain (1.2 million) and especially in the countries of America (USA - 2.7 million and Canada - 140 thousand). , as noted above, is gradually declining due to their assimilation by the British and Scots, and the number of Bretons - due to their assimilation by the French.

A separate language of the Indo-European family is spoken by Albanians, or shki-petars (2.5 million). Almost half of Albanians live outside of Albania - in Yugoslavia (mainly in the autonomous region of Kosovo-Metohya), as well as in southern Italy and Greece, where they are gradually merging with the local population. Spoken Albanian is divided into two main dialects - Gheg and Tosk.

An isolated place is occupied by the Greek language, which is spoken by the Greeks (8.0 million), living mainly in Greece and Cyprus, and in small groups in neighboring countries. The Greek language is also spoken by Karakachans (about 2 thousand) - a small nationality, still leading a semi-nomadic lifestyle; groups of Karakachans are found in the central and southeastern regions of Bulgaria and in northern Greece. In the countries of South-Eastern Europe, mainly in Romania, Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia, there are significant groups of gypsies (650 thousand), who still retain their language, which is part of the Indian group, and features of culture and life; most gypsies also speak the languages ​​of the surrounding population. The number of Roma persecuted by the Nazis halved during the Second World War.

Among the peoples who speak languages ​​of other language families are, as noted above, the Hungarians, or Magyars (12.2 million), formed on the basis of the merger of the ancient Slavic population of Central Europe with the nomadic tribes of the Hungarians who came here. The Hungarian language, which belongs to the Ugric group of the Uralic family, is divided into a number of dialects, among which the Szekler dialect stands out - a geographically and culturally distinct group of the Hungarian people living in Romania in some regions of Transylvania and having its own autonomy there. Significant groups of Hungarians live in countries neighboring Hungary: in Romania (1650 thousand people), Yugoslavia (540 thousand) and Czechoslovakia (415 thousand); many Hungarian immigrants in the USA (850 thousand) and Canada.

Two other peoples belonging to the same language family, the Finns, or Suomi (4.2 million), and the Saami, or Lojpari (33 thousand), live in the northern part of Europe and are territorially separated from the Hungarians. Finns inhabit the territory of Finland; small groups of them, known as the Kvens, are settled in the central and eastern regions of Sweden; in addition, in recent years, the emigration of Finnish workers to Sweden has greatly increased, USA and Canada. The Saami are a small nation, descendants of the most ancient population of Scandinavia, pushed back to the northern and mountainous regions of Sweden, Norway and Finland; significant groups of them live on the Kola Peninsula in the CGCP. Most of the Saami are engaged in reindeer herding, maintaining a nomadic lifestyle, the rest are sedentary fishermen.

In the northern part of the Iberian Peninsula - in Spain and partly in France - live the Basques (830 thousand) - the descendants of the ancient population of the peninsula (Iberian tribes), whose language occupies a separate place in the system of linguistic classification. Many Basques in Spain also know Spanish, Basques in France - French.

On the islands of Malta and Gozo live the Maltese (300 thousand), formed as a result of a complex mixture of various ethnic components. The Maltese speak a dialect of Arabic, with a large number of borrowings from Italian. During the post-war years, the emigration of the Maltese to the UK and the USA has greatly increased.

The countries of foreign Europe in demographic terms census have been studied quite well, since almost the study of all is carried out by regular censuses of the population,moreover, the latter were quite recently - after the end of the Second World War. In the ethno-statistical sense, however, the knowledge of the countries of foreign Europe is far from homogeneous. The most reliable ethno-statistical materials are available for the countries of South-Eastern Europe, the least reliable - for the countries of Western Europe. In many countries, population census programs do not include national composition among their tasks at all, or severely limit this task.

Among the countries whose post-war censuses make it possible to directly determine their ethnic composition are: Bulgaria (censuses on December 3, 1946 and December 1, 1956 - a question about nationality), Romania (census on January 25, 1948 - a question about native language, census February 21, 1956 - question about nationality and mother tongue), Yugoslavia (census March 15, 1948 - question about nationality, census March 31, 1953 - question about nationality and mother tongue), Czechoslovakia (census March 1 1950 - the question of nationality). However, it should be noted that the data of the last censuses of Romania and Czechoslovakia have not yet been published in full, and this makes it difficult to determine the number of some national minorities in these countries. It is also known that in Albania in 1945 and 1955. population censuses were conducted, the program of which included the question of nationality, but there are no official materials of these censuses yet. Thus, it turns out that reliable ethno-statistical materials cover less than 15% of the population of the countries of Foreign Europe.

A lesser opportunity for an accurate determination of the national composition of the population is provided by census materials of those countries where the language of the population is taken into account. These countries include: Austria (census June 1, 1951 - mother tongue), Belgium (census December 31, 1947 - knowledge of the main languages ​​​​of the country and the main spoken language), Hungary (persist January 1, 1949 - language), Greece (April 7, 1951 census - mother tongue), Finland (December 31, 1950 census - spoken language), Switzerland (December 1, 1950 census - spoken language) and Liechtenstein (December 31, 1950 census - language) . National affiliation, as you know, does not always coincide with linguistic affiliation, and this fact is especially characteristic of Europe, where many peoples speak the same language (for example, in German - Germans, Austrians, German-Swiss, etc.) . Note that comparatively more reliable results can be obtained if the mother tongue question is asked in the censuses, but in Austria and Greece, where the censuses used such a question, the concept of mother tongue was essentially replaced by the concept of the main spoken language. Due to the strong linguistic assimilation of national minorities (the use of language as an ethnic determinant leads to an underestimation of their number and an exaggeration of the number of the main nationality of the country. In this regard, using census materials that took into account the language (native or spoken), it was necessary to establish in each individual case the connection of this indicator with the nationality of the population (both in relation to the local population and in relation to people from other countries) and to correct these materials according to other literary and statistical sources. On the territory of Germany (in Soviet and Western wons), a census was also carried out taking into account the native language, but its data, which covered the masses of refugees and displaced persons who later repatriated or left Germany for other countries, are currently outdated.

Subsequent censuses of the GDR and the FRG, as well as post-war censuses of the rest of Europe, which include Great Britain (census April 8, 1951), Denmark (census October 1, 1950), Ireland (censuses April 12, 1946 and 8 April 1956), Iceland (Census 1 December 1950), Spain (Census 31 December 1950), Italy (Census 4 November 1951), Luxembourg (Census 31 December 1947), Netherlands (Census 31 May 1947), Norway (Census 1 December 1950), Poland (Census 3 December 1950), Portugal (Census 15 December 1950), France (Census 10 March 1946 and 10 May 1954), Sweden (Census 31 December 1950), Malta (Census 14 June1948), Andorra, the Vatican, Gibraltar and San Marino, did not aim to determine the national or linguistic composition of the population. The term "nationality" ("nationalite"), used in the qualifications of many countries (Great Britain, France, etc.), is not adequate to the Russian term "nationality" and has a special interpretation, different from that adopted in the USSR and most countries of Eastern Europe; it corresponds, as a rule, to the concept of citizenship or nationality. The materials of the qualifications of such countries contain information only on the number of citizens of their state and the number of foreigners, usually with a breakdown of the latter by countries of origin.

It should be pointed out that the accuracy of determining the number of individual peoples living in the above countries, due to the heterogeneity of the census materials of their populations and auxiliary materials that replace census data to some extent, is not the same. So, for example, establishing the number of the Celtic-speaking peoples of Great Britain - the Welsh - was facilitated by the fact that the census program for Scotland and Wales has long included a question about knowledge of the Welsh or Gaelic languages ​​(for persons over three years old). The same applies to France, where knowledge of local dialects of the German language is taken into account in the territory of Alsace-Lorraine. Many states of Europe have a relatively homogeneous national composition, and therefore the number of the main nationalities of these countries could be obtained with sufficient accuracy for our purposes by excluding small groups of national minorities, the number of which was determined from auxiliary materials, mainly from data on citizenship or from the works of an ethnographic and linguistic character. Of considerable value for determining the national composition of some countries (Italy, France) are the materials of old population censuses, conducted even before the start of the Second World War and taking into account the linguistic composition of the population, however, one should take into account the change in state borders and the migration of the population from country to country.

Particularly serious difficulties arise when determining the national composition of those countries where the ethnic heterogeneity of the indigenous population is supplemented by a large number of foreigners (France - more than 1,500 thousand, Great Britain - more than 500 thousand, etc.). Although the countries of origin of these persons are in most cases known, the determination of their nationality is possible only with a great approximation. Ethnicity, as you know, is not associated with citizenship, and, in addition, the composition of foreigners is quite variable, both due to their natural “fluidity” (i.e., the return of some groups to their homeland and the arrival of drushkhs), and due to naturalization (acceptance of citizenship new country of residence) of a part of them, after which they are usually not distinguished in population censuses. To clarify the number of immigrants from other countries, official census data had to be supplemented with statistical materials on the naturalization of foreigners, however, in this case, the determination of nationality faces very complex problems. Above, we noted the presence of assimilation processes among the indigenous population of the countries of Foreign Europe, however, such processes are especially characteristic of foreigners. Persons who, for one reason or another, moved to a foreign environment, having lost ties with their people, received new citizenship, etc., over time, ethnically merge with the surrounding population. These processes, extremely complex in nature, in many cases, and especially where the only evidence of them is the data on the adoption of a new citizenship, cannot be revealed in all details.

In addition to data on nationality, language, citizenship (country of origin) and naturalization, in some cases we also used data on religious affiliation. This applies, first of all, to determining the size of the Jewish population in countries where it cannot be distinguished on other grounds, as well as to determining the national composition of Northern Ireland (the distinction between Irish and Ulsters).

When determining the number of peoples in 1959, we proceeded from the general dynamics of the population of their countries of residence, taking into account differences in the natural movement of individual peoples, the participation of these peoples in migration, and especially the development of ethnic processes.

Summing up some of the above, we note that the national composition of many countries of foreign Europe was determined for 1959 with a certain approximation.