LINGUISTIC AREAS IN EUROPE DOMINIAN. 443 



tion the traffic of the Rhine ran at the end of the twelfth century 

 from Cologne to Bruges along the divide between French and 

 Flemish. Lorraine, inviting access from east and west, is known to 

 historians as a Gallo-Germanic market place of considerable im- 

 portance.^ In our own time the river trade between Holland and 

 GermanA^ along the Rhine has caused expansion of Dutch into Ger- 

 man territory as far as Wesel and Crefeld. The intruding language 

 yields, however, to German everywhere.^ Prevalence of French in 

 parts of Switzerland is generally ascribed to travel through certain 

 Alpine passes.^ The penetration of German in the Trentino has 

 already been explained. In Austria the entire valley of the Danube 

 has provided continental trade with one of its most important ave- 

 nues. I have called attention in a former article to the Balkan 

 peninsula as an intercontinental highway.* In a word, language 

 always followed in the wake of trade, and Babel-like confusion pre- 

 vailed along channels wherein men and their marketable commodi- 

 ties flowed. 



The history of Europe during the nineteenth century shows clearly 

 that modern reconstruction of nationalities is based on language. 

 Practically all the wars of this period are the outcome of three great 

 constructive movements which led to the unification of Germany and 

 of Italy, as well as to the disentanglement of Balkan nationalities. 

 These were outward and visible signs of the progress of democratic 

 ideals. The congress of Vienna failed to provide Europe with politi- 

 cal stability, because popular claims w^ere ignored during the delib- 

 erations. At present, inhabitants of linguistic areas under alien rule 

 are clamoring for the right to govern themselves. The carrying out 

 of plebiscites under international supervision can be relied upon to 

 satisfj^ their aspirations and serve as a guide to frontier rearrange- 

 ments. 



All told, the growing coincidence of ling-uistic and political bound- 

 aries must be regarded as a normal development. It is a form of 

 order evolved out of the chaos characterizing the origin of human 

 institutions. The delimitation of international frontiers is as neces- 

 sary as the determination of administrative boundaries or city lines. 

 Human organization requires it and there is no reason why it should 

 not be undertaken with a fair sense of the wishes and the feelings of 

 all affected. 



1 J. Vidal de la Blache, fitude sur la Vallfe Lorraine de la Meuse, Colin, Paris, 1908, 

 pp. 165-180. 



2 Cf. inset on pp. 63-64, Andree's Handatlas, 6th ed., 1915. 



3 J. Brunhes, La Geogr. Humaine, Alcan, Paris, 1912, pp. 598-599. 

 *The Balkan Peninsula, Bull. Amer. Geogr, Soc, vol. 45, no. 8, 1913. 



