Western Europe: An Introduction (1954)

[Music] what are some of the first impressions we might have as we see western europe for the first time we see sign after sign naming large cities as we travel to or from cities we may cross many borders borders between countries and borders between provinces each time we enter or leave a country we see a customs officer in a single day he may check people from several different countries countries whose languages he speaks almost every country we enter has a language of its own in some of the countries of western europe we may travel on roads that were laid out in ancient times by the romans we may think of the many centuries of time that passed between the building of this arch in roman times and the building of this famous arch in paris in modern times as we visit other cities and towns we'll see many examples of the new and the old the present and the past modern and old side by side remind us that history has played an important role in shaping european life from early times until today europe is a continent of many countries western europe as we are defining it includes the countries of era britain belgium the netherlands western germany austria switzerland italy france spain and portugal notice that all the countries except switzerland and austria have coasts on the atlantic or on the mediterranean or both many of western europe's important cities are on these coasts for centuries ships from western europe have crossed the atlantic to other parts of the world especially to the united states many sea routes connect the ports of western europe with those of the eastern united states does the map show us anything else about these two regions western europe has about the same area as this eastern part of the united states but this part of the united states has a population of about 100 million people while in western europe 250 million people live how do the people of western europe live in every country in western europe millions of people make their living directly from the land life goes on in many different kinds of places in mountainous regions in hilly or almost level uplands and in almost level lowlands in parts of the netherlands some land is even below the level of the sea here protected by dikes we find low lush pasture lands used for grazing cattle while in austria and switzerland there are very high pasture lands amid the towering peaks of the alps europe's highest mountains and between the two extremes are lands of many kinds much of the rolling farmland in france as well as in england is used to grow wheat and other grains wheat is an important crop in italy too bread made from wheat or other grains is one of the important foods of the people of europe potatoes too are a staple food and are grown in many places livestock also provide food meat and milk and yet even though the people use their lands wisely and in many ways they do not produce enough food to supply all their needs in making use of the land in different places people of course take climate into account from the northernmost point in western europe to the southernmost the shortest airline distance is more than 1500 miles this difference in latitude is one reason for differences in climate in northern scotland for instance summers are cool short and rainy while in southern spain summers are long hot and dry in some of the warmer lands of europe especially in parts of france and italy people grow grapes there are forest lands too where lumbering is going on perhaps you're beginning to see that people here make use of their lands in many ways from the countryside many products go to the cities of europe some of the exchange of products is carried on in trains in trucks and in barges and the evergreen in france many rivers are linked together by canals on canal boats products of the countryside are carried to the cities many people of western europe make their living by handling such trade at important crossroads cities developed long ago as centers of trade london england paris france rome italy amsterdam the netherlands and many more some cities have developed as centers of industry most of these are near the deposits of coal and iron these are two resources that have made possible the development of most of the industries of western europe the making of steel and iron is the foundation of western europe's industries in the great industrial areas there are jobs for skilled workers of many kinds and millions of people in western europe make their living in industrial work factories yes many of them and many kinds of skills and technical know-how are being used to create many kinds of products products that may be as small as a bottle or as large as a steam ship in the ships of western europe the manufactured products in exchange for the food and raw materials that europe needs are carried to many parts of the world but this trade and other normal ways of working and living have been from time to time disrupted by devastating wars the terrible destruction of world war ii was the most costly in history the war left many problems problems of rebuilding problems of conflicting political ideas problems of homes and jobs for displaced people recovery was the greatest task europeans ever faced new homes and shops have been built there are new factories overseas trade has been resumed and increased and western europe is continuing to play a very important part in the affairs of the world we can better understand these countries and their importance if we remember some of our impressions of western europe and its people let's remember that western europe has 250 million people a dense population let's remember that their patterns of living have been influenced by a long and ancient history let's remember that western europe is made up of various countries let's remember that the people use their lands in various ways even though they use their lands wisely the land does not produce enough food for all the people many people make their living in trade and commerce many more are engaged in industry many kinds of industry to produce the products that make western europe one of the great trade and industrial regions of the world [Music]