 The role of geography and history 
Following the critical appreciation phase of classical geography by 1970s geographers, Vidal de la Blache’s work was thoroughly re-examined. Reissues of his books and new publications on the history of the discipline made his work better known. This article proposes to revisit a little-known work by Vidal de la Blache, États et nations de l’Europe. Autour de la France, published in 1889. Regarding the history of geography, this work is interesting in more than one way. First, it allows us to grasp a form of conception of Europe, coming after the one developed in an original and significant way by Élisée Reclus. It also illustrates the author’s own way of mixing history and geography before the pivotal empowerment of geography as its own discipline. Lastly, it provides a striking analysis of certain political facts.