Capital Of West Germany example essay topic

History England: Framed for much of its history as an island fortress, Great Britain hasn't all ways been an island. In prehistoric times it was connected to continental Europe. Stone Age hunters could walk there. Eventually the sea rose and successive groups of the Celts, Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, and Normans sailed across the English channel or the north sea to great Britain and Ireland Regional cultures evolved into the counties of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, which merged as the United Kingdom in 1801.

The Republic of Ireland won its independence in 1922. London, near the mouth of the Thames, has been the economic center since Roman times and remains one of the largest financial and commercial centers in the world. France: The oldest city in France is Marseille, Greek sailors about 600 B. C founded it. The French Revolution started at the prison of the Bastille, now called place de la Bastille, in Paris on July 14, 1789 when a mob stormed the fortress. They freed its seven prisoners and raided its store of gunpowder. The revolution put and end to monarchy in France and the country became a republic.

Napoleon, an army general, named himself emperor and set out to conquer all of Europe. He was defeated in 1815 at Waterloo in Belgium by British and Prussian forces. Although France claimed colonies overseas later, it never regained its former control. After having two world wars fought on French soil it was weakened even more. General Charles de Gaulle, who led the French resistance against the Nazis during World War II, was elected president in 1958. The Netherlands Utrecht has been a crossroads since ancient Roman times.

As early as 48 B.C. there was a fortified settlement on the site. In the 17th century the Netherlands was a leading sea power, and world trade brought wealth. Historical cities like Amsterdam, the Hague, Leiden, and Delft preserve the art and architecture of this golden age. One of the world's greatest artists, Rembrandt, lived and worked in Amsterdam from 1639 till he died in 1669.

Hand painted blue and white pottery made Delft famous in the 17th century and is still produced there. Delft was founded during the 11th century. Anton von Leeuwenhoek, the man who revolutionized science when he built the first microscope, was born in Delft in 1632 and worked there all his life. Germany Bonn was the capital of West Germany when the now re-united country was divided. Now the capital is Berlin. Bonn dates back to Roman times and was the birthplace of one of the world most famous composers, Ludwig von Beethoven.

Augsburg, an ancient Roman colony started by Augustus Caesar in 14 B.C., is associated for being the birth place of the "the Augsburg Confession" a document drafted in 1513, became the basis for the creed of the Lutheran Church. Augsburg is located just west of the Nazi Germany's first concentration camp established in 1933. Government England: In England a King or Queen (Elisabeth II at present) reigns but, the Prime Minister is the countries real leader. The Prime Minister, Tony Blair, is much like our President.

The Prime Minister is supposed to live at number 10 Dowling road, but because his family is rather large they couldn't all fit into the house so he switched homes with another government official. He now resides in Number 11 Dowling road. Parliament is the framework for England's legislature. The word Parliament comes from the French word parler, which means to talk. Parliament is made up of sections, the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The houses of Parliament, in Westminster, stand where British monarchs once lived.

They have met at Westminster since 1547. Unlike the US, Britain doesn't have a written constitution. British courts instead have stuck with their centuries of tradition. France: During the French revolution the French got rid of royalty in their country.

Now they have a President, Jacques Chirac. France is run similar to the U.S. because it is also a democracy. Belgium: The Belgian Government is sort of like that of England's. It has a royal family that has little power and a Prime Minister.

Netherlands: A type of government called Constitutional Monarchy runs the Netherlands. Even though Amsterdam is the capital, Den Haag is the seat of government. The Chief of State is Queen Beatrix and the Head of government is Prime Minister Wim. The International Court of Justice is located in Den Haag.

When nations disagree on an issue it is brought to this court, because all fifteen nations in the U.N. have one judge each to represent them, it is unbiased verdict. Germany: Germany is a Federal Republic. Even though the new capital is Berlin some of the major government building are still located in the former capital of Bonn. The Basic Law became the constitution of the United German people on their Day of Unity, October 3, 1990. The German Chief of State is President Roman, but the head of government is Chancellor Dr. Helmut. Perhaps it is because America had so much to do with Germany after WWII that the German government is quite similar to the U.S. 's.

Switzerland: Switzerland is a Confederation. The type of government is Parliamentary Democracy. The President of the Federal Council (Head of State and Government) is Flavio Cott i. The capital is Bern. The thing that I found interesting was that Switzerland is one of the only totally neutral countries in the world.

Geography England: The island nation of England is located in northwestern Europe between the Northern Atlantic and the North Sea at 54 N, 2 W. This country, which is mostly rugged hills, low mountains, and in the east plains, is the size of Oregon. It is a temperate climate and over half the days are overcast. England has a total area of 244,820 sq km and 12,429 km of coastline. France: France is the largest country in west Europe and borders the Bay of Biscay, the English Channel, and the Mediterranean Sea. It offers the greatest variety of landscapes. France has beaches on the English Channel, the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.

Mountains draw people to the Pyrenees's on Spain's border, to the Alps and Western Europe's highest peak Mt. Blanc, and to the forested Vosges near Germany. Fishing on Brittany's rocky coast attracts sightseers. With 547,030 sq km, France is almost twice the size of Colorado.

Belgium: Belgium is located in Western Europe, bordering the North Sea; it's sandwiched between France and the Netherlands. The terrain is flat near the coast. Rolling hills in the central region and rugged hills of the Ardennes Forest in the southwest. The total area is 30,510 sq km and has 66 km of coastline Netherlands: If you were to find Netherlands on a map it would be located in Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, in between Belgium and Germany. The terrain here is mostly lowland, reclaimed land and in the southwest there are a few hills. Netherlands is twice the size of New Jersey at 41,532 sq km with 451 km of costal lands.

Germany: Germany is located in central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea. It also shares a border with Netherlands, Poland, Denmark and other nations to the south. In the north are the lowlands, in the central area there is the uplands and in the south is the Bavarian Alps. Germany is a little smaller that Montana. It has 356,910 sq km and 2,389 km of coastline. Switzerland: The landlocked country of Switzerland is located in central Europe, east of France and north of Italy.

Unlike the other countries in the area Switzerland is mostly mountainous. It is only 242 sq km smaller than Netherlands. Economics England: England, a leading trading power and financial center, is one of the quartets of trillion dollar economics of Western Europe. Though only 1% of the population is involved in agriculture it produces nearly 60% of the food need.

England has a large coal, natural gas, and oil reserve. The Economy has been strengthening at a rate of about 3% for the last several years. France: The economy in France in changing from one that was mainly Government ownership and intervention to one that's based more on market mechanism. Tourism boosts the economy and the French themselves are enthusiastic travelers.

Most of France has fertile soil, which makes it Western Europe's leading agricultural country. In addition to their over 300 different kinds of cheese the French are famous for their perfume and wines. The best wine comes from the regions of Bordeaux, Burgundy, and Champagne. The city of Bordeaux began producing wines after the Romans introduced grape growing to the area. Today the area makes 100 million gallons of grape juice and 500 million bottles of wine a year.

The French have produced high-tech industries such as telecommunications, construction of European airbus jetliners, and satellite launching from a base in French Guiana, South America. Belgium: Belgium has a modern private enterprise economy and has capitalized on its central geographic location, highly developed transport network, and diversified industrial and commercial base. Belgium imports large quantities of raw materials and exports a large amount of manufactured goods. Netherlands: The Netherlands is a prosperous and open economy in which the government has successfully reduced its role since the 1980's. Thanks to the 4% of the population that work in agriculture the Dutch rank third worldwide in food value. Germany: Germany is still trying to combine the former East and West German economies together.

West Germany was a well off country after the war where East Germany was very poverty-stricken. Even now, ten years after the Berlin wall came down, the regions in the eastern part of Germany rely on the western area of Germany for financial aid. Switzerland: Switzerland, a wealthy and stable modern market economy, is above that of the western European economies. In 2000 the economy went up a solid 3%. Switzerland is still a good place for investors, since it has maintained a degree of bank secrecy and has kept up with the franc's long- term external value.