The greatest centuries in history

[Bast]

For the purposes of this thread we will define centuries in Gregorian calendar for uniformity and simplicity's sake.

Here are a list of centuries and the key events and people for a brief view. From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_centuries

Here are my picks:

26th century BCE - The Great Pyramid was built in this century. Indus Valley civilization reaches the mature phase. A century of Bronze Age brilliance across the Nile, Mesopotamia to the Indus.

6th century BCE - Buddha and Mahavira found Buddhism and Jainism respectively. A period of great philosophical thought as Greek Philosophy also starts to stir this century while the great Achaemenid Empire expands in the middle across the near east.

15th century CE - The century that bridges the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Fall of Constantinople and discovery of the New World. How exciting it would've been to have lived through all that and be able to say men like Da Vinci were your contemporaries?

Will we ever see times as great as these ever again?

 

[Shekwan]

20th century was by far the most eventful. 21st will probably trump it though.

 

[Tee Kay]

Definitely the 20th century - an era of unprecendented innovation and rise in standard of living and freedoms worldwide.

 

[innonimatu]

Actually, I think that the 19th century was greater. It was when all the ideas which would shape the 20th started developing, it was when a large part of the world went from social feudalism to social modernity.

The 16th was also pretty important. It established the new path for the Americas to become what they are today, conditioning the future for what would be 1/3 of the planet.

 

[Tee Kay]

Actually, I think that the 19th century was greater. It was when all the ideas which would shape the 20th started developing, it was when a large part of the world went from social feudalism to social modernity.

Western Europe and North America are indeed a "large part of the world", but not really.

The 20th century, that's, that's when things really got rolling.

 

[aronnax]

I say that the 19th and 20th Centuries are the most impressive eras due to the high rate of development in science, technology, politics and so on.

 

[ParkCungHee]

Definitely the 20th century - an era of unprecendented innovation and rise in standard of living and freedoms worldwide.

On the other hand, Warfare, the loss of human freedoms, and political murder on a scale unseen in human history.

 

[Tee Kay]

On the other hand, Warfare, the loss of human freedoms, and political murder on a scale unseen in human history.

Oh, I don't know, medieval and early modern warfare was pretty brutal.

 

[ParkCungHee]

Oh, I don't know, medieval and early modern warfare was pretty brutal.

Yeah. They still come nowhere even close to what the Twentieth century saw.

 

[Camikaze]

I really don't think it's possible to count the 20th century as the greatest century, despite just widespread positive changes around the world. They came with a lot of bloodshed; too much to justify such a place in history.

 

[Godwynn]

Actually, I think that the 19th century was greater. It was when all the ideas which would shape the 20th started developing, it was when a large part of the world went from social feudalism to social modernity.

This along with the following events:

Britain, Prussia, and Russia defeat the French in the beginning of the century.

Prussia and the minor German states defeat the French at the end of century to create Germany.

 

[Tee Kay]

I really don't think it's possible to count the 20th century as the greatest century, despite just widespread positive changes around the world. They came with a lot of bloodshed; too much to justify such a place in history.

It's certainly an eventful century.

In any case, I think positive achivements during the 20th century outweighs all the wars and the genocides and all that.

Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return...

This along with the following events:

Britain, Prussia, and Russia defeat the French in the beginning of the century.

Prussia and the minor German states defeat the French at the end of century to create Germany.

Since when is defeating France anything special?

 

[Bluemofia]

20th century is the greatest century. It got a rough start, with the swaths of massive wars and genocides, but then they got over it, and started to develop great things.

Flight, Computers, development of modern day Chemistry, fields of QM and GR going beyond Newton, Moon landings, Internet, Civ...

Overall the vast amount of developments far outweigh the sacrifices made. It is inevitable that people will start playing with their new toys in an inappropriate fashion pursuing old grudges until they realize how they have to be responsible with them.

 

[Perfection]

The first century after the big bang

 

[Lord of Elves]

21st century is arguably the most important century in human history. Read Michio Kaku.

Otherwise, 19th century. Set the stage for the 20th, and thus the 21st, and defined the modern geopolitical situation.

 

[Zelig]

20th century, not even close.

I suspect it will be the 21st century by halfway through it.

 

[Lillefix]

Since when is defeating France anything special?

It's certainly not everyday you defeat one of the greatest commanders and greatest armies in history. In any case, I think the 20th is the best so far.

 

[Bluemofia]

21st century is arguably the most important century in human history. Read Michio Kaku.

Otherwise, 19th century. Set the stage for the 20th, and thus the 21st, and defined the modern geopolitical situation.

Well, it's barely 10% through yet, so you can't really argue it too much, simply because of lack of information. It is looking pretty good so far though.

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

The one where we went to space. All others pale in comparison.

 

[Lord of Elves]

Well, it's barely 10% through yet, so you can't really argue it too much, simply because of lack of information. It is looking pretty good so far though.

In a nod to SS-18's comment, the 21st century is arguably the cusp of space travel ability. We're entering a hitherto unseen period of technological specialization and social change. Technologies that would allow us the necessities of space travel are not too far in the future, and assuming we don't blow ourselves up in some sort of catastrophic nuclear apocalypse, we will probably make it there in the next hundred or so years.

Michio Kaku can put it a lot better than I can, if you're at all intrigued, you can see what he has to say in his "Future of Civilization", and several of his books. I believe you can find Future of Civilization on YouTube as an audio/video presentation-thing.