Data Extracted
from Information Provided by Max Blankfeld, FTDNA VP, on what is meant by various
regions of the world.
3. What are
Haplotypes and Haplogroups?
Haplogroups are clusters of Haplotypes
(expressed as exact or near exact 12 or 25 marker matches) that are in a tight
proximity to each other. Expressed
another way Haplotypes are subsets of a Haplogroup. Think of
the Haplotypes as the leaves of a tree, and the Haplogroups as the limbs of a tree…in fact the Haplogroups are the limbs of the tree of Homo Sapien-Sapien—our
unique branch of humanity. The Haplogroups have been crafted into what is called a Philogenetic network, and the male version can be seen
here: http://www.familytreedna.com/haplotree.html.
Please note that people
in different Haplogroups cannot be related within
many thousands of years, and that each male test result provides a prediction
of the Haplogroup currently about 90% of the
time. In general the following rule of
thumb may be used:
Haplogroup Designation
R1b Western Europe
R1a Eastern Europe
I Nordic
J2 Semitic
E3b Semitic
Q3 Native
American
Regions of Europe
Europe is often divided into regions due to
geographical, and cultural differences. Europe can be divided into five
directional regions, and subdivisions follow:
·
Northern Europe
Nordic countries
Sweden, Norway,
Finland, Denmark,
Iceland
·
Western Europe
French Region
France, Monaco
Benelux
Belgium, Netherlands,
Luxembourg
British Isles
United Kingdom, Ireland
·
Eastern Europe
European CIS
Russia, Belarus,
Ukraine, Moldova
Baltic States
Lithuania, Estonia,
Latvia
·
Southern Europe
Iberian Peninsula
Spain, Andorra,
Portugal
Italian Peninsula
Italy, San
Marino, Vatican City
Balkan Peninsula
Greece, Bosnia
and Herzegovina, Croatia,
Albania, Romania,
Bulgaria, Macedonia,
Serbia and Montenegro,
Turkey
Mediterranean States
Cyprus, Malta
·
Central Europe
Alpine countries
Germany, Austria,
Switzerland, Liechtenstein,
Slovenia
Visegrád group
Poland, Czech
Republic, Slovakia,
Hungary
See Regions
of Europe
Map colouring is based
on strict geographic definitions. Often the various regions include different
countries than those on the map. The inclusion or not of various countries in
each region is described below:
Western Europe is
always assumed to include: the British Isles (United
Kingdom, Ireland),
the French Region (France, Monaco)
and Benelux (Belgium,
Netherlands, Luxembourg).
It usually also includes Germany,
though geographically the country may be more central European. In some
circumstances, it refers to the entire western half of Europe, including the Iberian Peninsula (Spain, Portugal, Andorra), the Italian peninsula (Italy, San Marino, Vatican City), the Nordic Countries or Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Denmark) and the Alpine Countries (Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein,
Austria, Slovenia). Used in a historical or political sense (referring to Cold War
divisions), this
term may even include Greece
and Turkey.
Central Europe is
not perhaps as common a term as Western or Eastern Europe. Most of the
countries included in the definition are often labelled Western or Eastern. A
definition of Central Europe usually includes the Alpine
Countries (Germany,
Switzerland, Liechtenstein,
Austria, Slovenia)
– though not always Germany
– and also the Visegrad Group (Poland,
Czech Republic, Slovakia,
Hungary).
Similarly to
Western Europe, the term Eastern Europe may be used in a strict or broad sense.
It usually includes the Baltic States (Estonia,
Latvia, Lithuania)
and the European CIS States (Belarus,
Ukraine, Moldova,
Russia). It often includes
the Caucasus or Transcaucasian countries (Georgia,
Azerbaijan, Armenia),
though these are often also regarded as part of Asia. In a broader economic/political context, it may also
encompass the Visegrad Group (Poland,
Czech Republic,
Slovakia, Hungary)
and the Balkan Peninsula (Croatia,
Bosnia & Herzegovina,
Serbia & Montenegro,
Albania, Macedonia,
Greece, Romania,
Bulgaria).
The term Northern
Europe, in its strictest sense, refers to the Nordic Countries or Scandinavia (Norway,
Sweden, Finland,
Iceland, Denmark).
Estonia may also be
included. In a broader sense, it is usually used as a cultural division, again,
encompassing the entire northern half of Europe. This includes the British Isles (United Kingdom,
Ireland), Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands,
Luxembourg) and usually
Northern France and Germany.
Poland. Often, all the Baltic Countries (Estonia,
Latvia, Lithuania)
are also included.
Southern Europe is a term used in much the same ways as
Northern Europe. It includes the Iberian Peninsula (Spain,
Portugal, Andorra),
the Italian peninsula (Italy,
Vatican City, San
Marino) and the Balkan Peninsula (Croatia,
Bosnia & Herzegovina,
Serbia & Montenegro,
Albania, Macedonia,
Greece, Romania,
Bulgaria). Usually the Mediterranean States (Cyprus,
Malta) and Asia Minor (i.e. Turkey)
are also included. In a cultural sense, southern France
may be included.
Western
Europe
Western Europe is distinguished from Central and Eastern
Europe by geography and by
differences of history and culture. However, these boundaries are subject to
considerable overlap and fluctuation, which makes differentiation difficult.
The concept of Western Europe is also associated with liberal democracy; its countries are generally deemed to be well
within the cultural hegemony of the United States of America.
Up to World War II, "Western Europe" was thought to
comprise France, the British Isles and Benelux. These countries represented the democratic victors of both world wars, and their
ideological approach was spread further east as a natural consequence.
During the Cold War, when Western Europe designated the democratic countries
that were part of NATO and under American influence, the term was often used as a counterbalance to Eastern
Europe that was under Soviet influence. Although Finland, Sweden and Switzerland were not formally NATO-allied, with their market economy and democratic institutions dated centuries
back, they clearly belonged to the group. The borders between Western and
Eastern countries were securely defended, especially on the Eastern side. This
border were also called the Iron Curtain.
Until the enlargement of the European Union of 2004, Western
Europe was often associated with that Union (possibly with the
exception of Greece). Today, the connection to NATO or to the European Union may by many people be perceived as historical,
who rather define Western Europe as including the following regions:
·
the Nordic countries (Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark)
·
the Alpine countries (Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Slovenia)
·
the Benelux countries (Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg)
·
the British Isles (Ireland, the United Kingdom)
·
France and Monaco
·
the Iberian peninsula (Spain, Andorra, Portugal)
·
the Apennine peninsula (Italy, San Marino, Vatican City)
·
in many contexts
also Greece and Cyprus
It ought to be
borne in mind that this kind of concepts, for Europe's division, are
overlapping. The Nordic countries being counted to Western Europe
does not at all hinder their being considered part of Northern Europe at the same time. Similarly, the Alpine
countries may be considered part of Central Europe, and Italy,
the Iberian countries, Monaco,
Greece and southern France
part of Southern Europe as
Eastern
Europe
Eastern Europe is, by convention, a region defined geographically as that part of Europe covering the eastern part of the
continent. Generally this means that it lies between the Ural and Caucasus mountains and the western border of Russia, or alternatively also includes those countries adjacent
to Russia's western border.
As is also true of continents, regions are only social constructs
and should not be understood as physical features defined by abstract, neutral
criteria.
The term is often used in the Western countries to refer to all European countries previously
under communist regimes, the so-called Eastern Bloc. The concept of Eastern Europe was greatly
strengthened by the domination of the region by the Soviet Union after the Second
World War and the takeover of the nations of the region by communist
governments. The idea of an "Iron Curtain" separating Eastern and Western Europe was an
extremely common view throughout the Cold War.
This strict dualism
caused problems, however, as it failed to account for the complexities of the
region. For instance, Yugoslavia and Albania refused to be controlled by Moscow, but this division was often ignored by many in the west.
Such a view is considered pejorative by the population of all such countries,
especially since the fall of the Berlin wall and Communism in Europe overall. They do not
see themselves as Eastern Europeans, and most of them prefer to include
themselves in other groups, associating themselves with Central Europe, with Scandinavia (in Northern Europe) or with Southern Europe. Note that countries tha