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Hello, everyone! Welcome to the course on the History of the European Union!
In our first section, we will see how the idea of the European integration was discussed way before its implementation in the 20th century. Before we start, let me inform you that in order to make this lesson easy and understandable to many people, I will avoid going into too much details. However, a vast bibliography will be available at the end of each lesson for those who may seek more detailed information.
Defining European Union
Defining European Union
A simple way of defining the European Union as we know it is to think about it as a group of sovereign countries whose desire for a peaceful and common future was the main factor that led to its implementation. As we will see during this lesson, the pursuit of peace was a strong and important principle that followed the idea of European integration from the first thinkers to the moment of its execution.
First thinkers to come up with the idea
First thinkers to come up with the idea
Since the 16th century, we can find many thinkers defending the idea of an European integration, mostly focusing on the maintenance of peace among the nations. Two of the most important philosophers in Europe, Sir Thomas More (1478-1535) and Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466-1536), led by humanistic values, religious tolerance and the desire of a peaceful living, contributed, although not directly, with the patch of an European cooperation.
However, in the 17th century, William Penn (1644-1718), an Englishman who was granted a territory in the American continent in 1681, once back to England was shocked by the War of the Grand Alliance (1689-97) and proposed what can be seen as the prototype of the European Parliament. In his proposal, each country would have a certain number of MPs that would constitute the European Diet or Parliament. This number would be appointed by the economic and political importance of the country, but once elected, the MPs would have to organize themselves in different groups. As you will see further in this course, this resembles, even though with some differences, the European Parliament.
Another important thinker was Abbé de Saint-Pierre (1658-1743). In 1713, before the ending of the War of the Spanish Succession (1702-1714), Saint-Pierre was worried about bringing and maintaining peace in the European continent and proposed what he called “Projet pour rendre la paix perpétuelle en Europe”. In order to maintain peace and trade, Saint-Pierre proposed the formation of an European Union made by independent and sovereign states as well as a creation of a Congress and a common and independent army.
Social changes caused by the Napoleonic War
Social changes caused by the Napoleonic War
In the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815), the winners (Austria, France, Prussia, Russia, and the United Kingdom) tried to establish a system of congresses that would be known as the Concert of Europe (1815-1914). This system’s objective was to keep Europe from being dragged to another war and also to stop revolutionary movements, maintaining the conservation political status quo in power. Between its implementation and its ending, the system avoided its collapse many times until it came to an end with the beginning of World War I.
Variety of views on integrating Europe
Variety of views on integrating Europe
It is important to point out that the European project, as thought by many, could present an array of different levels of integration, from a simple system of congress as we saw during the Concert of Europe to the most unified federalist mode as proposed by Duc Sully (1560-1641) and John Bellers (1645-1725).
As we will see, it was only after World War II that the European countries would re-engage in conversations about a stronger cooperation between themselves and how such cooperation could be shaped.
In the next modules you will learn about the history of the Second World War, its consequences in the international arena and how European countries made it from a division made by the Berlin Wall to reunision by creating an European Union.
Introduction.mp4To learn more about this subject:
To learn more about this subject:
https://www.britannica.com/place/Potsdam-Germany
https://europe.unc.edu/the-end-of-wwii-and-the-division-of-europe/
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/yalta-conf
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/un
https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/internacional-51334970
https://www.un.org/en/sections/history/history-united-nations/index.html
https://www.federalists.eu/uef
https://winstonchurchill.org/resources/speeches/1946-1963-elder-statesman/united-states-of-europe/
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