European borders

Abstract

The geographic boundaries of Europe have been determined by history. They distinguish the territories of European peoples with more or less clarity and relevance according to places: for instance the oriental boundaries of Europe are rather fuzzy.

The internal borders of Europe, which have often changed their location in the eighteenth century, show the marks of its eventful history because border changes often accompanied significant political events, especially wars.

A close examination of the borders shows the diversity of reasons why they came into existence and the intricacy of their economic, politic, cultural and social consequences.

One can come to a conclusion that borders reveal a historic and geographic complexity; thus, one has to learn to refer to them cautiously, depending on the local context.