Europe is, to a large extent, the crucible of world development. Certainly, Asia and the regions of the Middle East are significant too, but Europe is the birth of a Western culture that has spread throughout the globe and affected the world in numerous ways. For this reason, European studies are central to any academic curriculum program. As specific to the U.S., Europe is particularly important since not only has Europe birthed the U.S. But many of its citizens stem from there, the cultures are closely linked, and the U.S. conducts a large part of its trade with Europe. For these reasons and more, it seems to be important that Europe and its development should be the first region addressed in a World Regional Geography course.

The following essay elaborates on the significance of European contributions to world development by tracing key points of European history through feudalism to globalization...
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