It should be clear to anyone with an IQ above 80 that a century begins on year **01. I would like to propose that a century actually begins at different point. During the beginning of a hundred year period, usually within the first 20 years, there is a major event that changes/sets in motion the political, cultural, and historical trajectory. This trajectory then comes to define that period. The true beginning of a century is a line of demarcation that makes life after it, even if very similar in appearance, fundamentally different than before.
In the three most recent centuries, these are the events that I believe set the centuries in motion.
18 June 1815
The 19th Century began at the Battle of Waterloo. The defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte and the French Empire decided that the United Kingdom would be the dominate empire of the world through the19th century and beyond. Napoleon's defeat also made way for the rise of the Prussians and Germany on the European continent.
28 June 1914
The 20th century began with the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, sparking the Great War. The aristocratic, traditional European order was shattered by the first world war. Events during the war gave rise to Soviet Russia, as well as the rise of Hitler 20 years later. WWI was also the first time the United States showed its ability to lead on the world stage.
11 September 2001
The 21st century began on September 11th, 2001. The radical Islamic terrorist attacks on New York and Washington began the continuing wars in the Middle East. The War on Terror came to replace the Cold War as the new foreign policy and military focus of the United States and NATO. Effects so far have been a destabilization of many regions around the Mediterranean, as well as the gradual erosion of privacy rights and free speech in the West.
We still have a lot of the 21st century to go.
It's fun to look back on the years of the world and observe history progress. In the current day, as in all past days, history happens daily. I like to keep in mind this mathematical rendering of a quote by Elon Musk: Observation<Participation.
In the three most recent centuries, these are the events that I believe set the centuries in motion.
18 June 1815
The 19th Century began at the Battle of Waterloo. The defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte and the French Empire decided that the United Kingdom would be the dominate empire of the world through the19th century and beyond. Napoleon's defeat also made way for the rise of the Prussians and Germany on the European continent.
28 June 1914
The 20th century began with the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, sparking the Great War. The aristocratic, traditional European order was shattered by the first world war. Events during the war gave rise to Soviet Russia, as well as the rise of Hitler 20 years later. WWI was also the first time the United States showed its ability to lead on the world stage.
11 September 2001
The 21st century began on September 11th, 2001. The radical Islamic terrorist attacks on New York and Washington began the continuing wars in the Middle East. The War on Terror came to replace the Cold War as the new foreign policy and military focus of the United States and NATO. Effects so far have been a destabilization of many regions around the Mediterranean, as well as the gradual erosion of privacy rights and free speech in the West.
We still have a lot of the 21st century to go.
It's fun to look back on the years of the world and observe history progress. In the current day, as in all past days, history happens daily. I like to keep in mind this mathematical rendering of a quote by Elon Musk: Observation<Participation.
