Two ways in which the proximity to water has affected Western Europe's economy:
1) Proximity of water can lead to lack of food, which affects economy of the country in various ways.
2) It has wet cool summers and wet, mild winters, so for shelters and cloths, it affects economy by transportation, extra manufacture etc.
Hope this helps!
Answer: ...have obtained independence during post-war period (during 1950s, 1960s and 1970s).
Explanation: we have to include Dutch (Surinam for example), French (Algeria or Vietnam), Belgian (Kongo-Kinshassa) or Portuguese (Angola, Mozambique) colonies. This process included return of white-Europeans colonists back to Europe: the biggest return was that of Algerian French (Pieds-Noirs) and later (not so big) European whites from Portuguese territories (1974-1975-1976).
