If you look at the events that happened during the Reign of George III it's incredible how huge historical events were taking place in such a short period of time. The American Revolutionary War, Pitt the younger beoming the Prime Minister in his twenties and finally the revolution in France. Who knows if there's been another period in history like it?
shareI agree, but whenever I compare the extremes of a century (ie comparing 1600 to 1699) I think the 17th and 19th stand out for the way civilisation and technology respectively progressed in leaps and bounds.
"Now, fulfil your destiny, and take your father's place at MY side!"
I'd say the 20th century tops them all. 1900-1999 saw the invention of the automobile, the airplane, two world wars, the telephone, the internet. It's like a millenia of human progress was squeezed into one century.
shareNot quite - the automobile and the telephone are 19th century inventions.
But overall, I'd say you have a fair point with the 20th century.
"Now, fulfil your destiny, and take your father's place at MY side!"
George III reigned for quite some time (1760-1820). Not only did his reign witness the American and French Revolutions, but also the Industrial Revolution, steam engine, very beginning of rail roads, rise and fall of Napoleon Bonaparte, and War of 1812.
shareOh, I think by leaps and bounds, the most dramatic period of change in any one lifetime has to be that of someone like my Great-great Grandmother, who was born in the 1860s and died in 1930s. Just imagine the radical differences between those two periods:
1. Horse-drawn carriages -> Automobiles
2. Wind-powered sailing -> diesel-powered ocean-liners
3. Candlelight -> Electricity
4. Simple telegraph -> Radio, television, movies
5. The birth of air travel: Around the world in 80 days -> Less than 1 week
The list goes on. It's even MORE impressive if you extend that life out to age 85, or to after the end of WWII, where you have the atomic age.
We all like to think that our current generation, complete with computers, smartphones, information is the most dramatic change in history, but in the grand scheme, I think we're way past any monumental change like that which has already taken place.
That is a pretty impressive list. But technology oriented. She probably was raised without indoor plumbing, then got used to having it. Maybe didn't have running water in her kitchen back then.
She wouldn't remember much about slavery, but probably knew a bunch of former slaves as she grew up -- and wasn't too surprised at the Jim Crow laws that dominated. Females were a step up from slaves, but late in life she probably voted and saw feminists writing books. Wars went from pretty silly regional fights to a full fledged World War.
It's been strange to think about. The book "The Color Purple" covers pretty much the same range, and the narrator talks about visiting a relative 20 miles away - it used to be a day long pull with the donkey pulling the wagon, but in the 1930s, it was a twenty minute drive.
Thee Age of Enlightenment still dominated the world of ideas in Europe, but you'd be hard - pressed to know this judged by some of the medical practices we see.🐭
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