Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
The Baltic Republics
Estonia
Latvia
Lithuania
After Stalin and Hitler signed their secret nonaggression pact in 1939, Hilter gave the Soviets a free
hand to move on the three Baltic Republics, which were seized by the Soviet Union in 1940. Half a cen-
tury later, the three small states bordering on the Baltic Sea in northwestern Europe boldly declared their
independence from the Soviet Union. Late in 1991, after the aborted coup against Mikhail Gorbachev, they
were finally recognized by the Western nations as independent.
Island States
Iceland
For reasons of culture and language, this rugged little island, where most residents get their heat from
geothermal sources, can also be thought of as a Scandinavian country.
Ireland
Malta
The most-bombed place in World War II, Malta is home to the most famous bird figurine in the history
of detective novels,
The Maltese Falcon.
United Kingdom
What is now called the United Kingdom, once the seat of a vast British Empire, is made up of England,
Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The union took place over three centuries, beginning in 1536 when
King Henry VIII merged England and Wales under a single government. Scotland was joined to England
under King James I of England, the cousin of Queen Elizabeth I. In 1707, the Act of Union formally cre-
ated the Kingdom of Great Britain, with a unified Parliament in Westminster. In 1801, Ireland was joined
to Great Britain, but in 1921, the largest part of Ireland won independence as the Irish Free State. Six
northern counties, mostly Protestant, remained part of the United Kingdom—a source of continuing strife
in Northern Ireland, where the Roman Catholic minority favors unification with the rest of Ireland.
A resurgent independence movement has also taken root in Scotland, inspired by North Sea oil reven-
ues and the nationalist fever that has spread through Europe in the past five years.
Miscellaneous Leftovers
Andorra
A small semi-independent state tucked into the Pyrenees Mountains between France and Spain.
Gibraltar
This 2.25 square mile point commands the strategic passage in and out of the Mediterranean and is
a self-governing dependency of the United Kingdom. While Spain wants it back, the people of Gibraltar
have voted to maintain the status quo.
Isle of Man
Another self-governing dependency of the United Kingdom located in the Irish Sea between Ireland
and Great Britain.
Monaco
