Researching Ancestors in Continental Europe (750)

Have you found ancestors that originated in Continental Europe? This course introduces you to the broad context of Europe, offers advice for tracking European ancestors, expands your knowledge and assists in problem solving. Europe is a complex Continent, spanning more than 50 modern Countries. Europe has seen a huge amount of change, forced religious changes, border changes, war, mass displacement and much more.

During the course we will explore the similarities and differences across Europe and encourage the consideration of some practical factors when conducting your research. There are a great many resources that can be used to assist your research. This course is about creating a solid foundation to research in continental Europe.

We will look at defining Europe and what countries are in Europe (it is not always as obvious as you might think!) We look further at the European Empires and the impact on migration to and from the continent. We look too at the borderlines and unifications. The course explores the standard resources across Europe, key websites, reading material and much more, providing the building blocks for robust and solid foundation research in Europe.

We will consider the reasons for migration, e.g. work opportunities, emigration schemes, persecution, internment and following military service, in the context of historical events. We will also look the culture that the migrants brought with them from their native land, keeping those links alive. Sometimes, it is following those links that actually helps with your research. The course also includes sections on the impact of war and displacement and Europeans beyond Continental Europe.

Each student will receive a set of European Country information sheets with core material for genealogical research meaning that students complete the course with the knowledge and core information to research further.

Learning Objectives:
At the end of this course students will be able to:

• Recognise the broad and complex history of Europe
• Summarise the resources available across Europe and how to obtain access to them, and the questions to ask
• Analyse the social and personal factors to be considered and how those factors potentially impact on their research
• Evaluate the impact of War, Displacement, border changes and how they significantly impact the lives of our ancestors

This is an enlightening course, enabling you to research your European Ancestors - Your people, in their place and in their time.