Long nineteenth century
Historiographical period from 1789 to 1914.
The long nineteenth century describes a 125-year span from the French Revolution in 1789 to World War I's start in 1914. Soviet writer Ilya Ehrenburg coined the term, later popularized by British historian Eric Hobsbawm. It borrows from Fernand Braudel's concept of a long sixteenth century. While a recognized literary history category, its exact boundaries vary among scholars.
Quick Facts
- Start
- 1789
- Before
- Age of Enlightenment; Long eighteenth century
- After
- World War I; Short 20th century
Facts from the source article.
Overview
Hobsbawm's analysis of the long nineteenth century appears in three works: The Age of Revolution: Europe 1789–1848, The Age of Capital: 1848–1875, and The Age of Empire: 1875–1914. He begins the period with a dual revolution: the Industrial Revolution, which drove technological and societal change, and the French Revolution, which aimed to establish universal and egalitarian citizenship in France. The long nineteenth century ends with the outbreak of World War I, a conflict that concluded in 1918 and realigned the European power balance that had endured through the 19th century proper.
Hobsbawm's sequel, The Age of Extremes: The Short Twentieth Century, 1914–1991, details a short 20th century from 1914 to 1991, a concept originally proposed by Iván T. Berend. A more generalized version of the long 19th century, lasting from 1750 to 1914, is often used by Peter Stearns in world history. In Catholic Church history, the long 19th century was a period of centralization of papal power, opposing centralized nation states and revolutionary movements, and extended from the French Revolution in 1789 until the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958.
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