science

Long nineteenth century

Long nineteenth century is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Long nineteenth century rather than just read about it. In short: The long nineteenth century is a term for the 125-year period beginning with the onset of the French Revolution in 1789 and ending with the outbreak of World War I in 1914. It was coined by the Soviet writer Ilya Ehrenburg, and later popularized by the British historian Eric Hobsbawm.

Key takeaways

Long nineteenth century belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Long nineteenth century to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Long nineteenth century from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The long nineteenth century is a term for the 125-year period beginning with the onset of the French Revolution in 1789 and ending with the outbreak of World War I in 1914. It was coined by the Soviet writer Ilya Ehrenburg, and later popularized by the British historian Eric Hobsbawm. The concept is an adaptation of Fernand Braudel's 1949 notion of le long seizième siècle (transl. the long 16th century, 1450–1640, which represented proto-globalization with the birth of the world market), and is "a recognized category of literary history", although a period often broadly and diversely defined by different scholars. Numerous authors, before and after Hobsbawm's 1995 publication, have applied similar forms of book titles or descriptions to indicate a selective time frame for their works, such as S. Kettering's French Society: 1589–1715 – the Long Seventeenth Century, E. Anthony Wrigley's British Population During the 'Long' Eighteenth Century, 1680–1840, or David Blackbourn's The Long Nineteenth Century: A History of Germany, 1780–1918. The term has been used in support of historical publications to "connect with broader audiences", and is regularly cited in studies and discussions across academic disciplines, such as history, linguistics, and the arts.

Overview

Hobsbawm lays out his analysis in The Age of Revolution: Europe 1789–1848 (1962), The Age of Capital: 1848–1875 (1975), and The Age of Empire: 1875–1914 (1987). Hobsbawm starts his long 19th century with his dual revolution: the Industrial Revolution, which brought about vast technological advancement and societal change; and the French Revolution, which sought to establish universal and egalitarian citizenship in France. He ends it with the outbreak of World War I, which concluded in 1918 with the long-enduring European power balance of the 19th century proper (1801–1900) realigned. In a sequel to this trilogy, The Age of Extremes: The Short Twentieth Century, 1914–1991 (1994), Hobsbawm details the "short 20th century" (a concept originally proposed by Iván T. Berend), beginning with World War I and ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, between 1914 and 1991. A more generalized version of the long 19th century, lasting from 1750 to 1914, is often used by Peter Stearns in the context of the world history school.

In religious contexts, specifically those concerning the history of the Catholic Church, the long 19th century was a period of centralization of papal power over the Catholic Church. This centralization was in opposition to the increasingly centralized nation states and contemporary revolutionary movements, and used many of the same organizational and communication techniques as its rivals. The Church's long 19th century, covering the period between the decline of traditional Catholic power and the emergence of secular ideas within states and the emergence of new thinking within the church after the election of Pope John XXIII, extended from the French Revolution (1789) until the death of Pope Pius XII (1958).

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Long nineteenth century

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Long nineteenth century claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Long nineteenth century before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Long nineteenth century ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Long nineteenth century

In research: Long nineteenth century appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Long nineteenth century in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Long nineteenth century is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1789, 1790s, 1910s, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Long nineteenth century outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Long nineteenth century in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Long nineteenth century means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Long nineteenth century out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Long nineteenth century in simple terms?

Why does Long nineteenth century matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Long nineteenth century?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Long nineteenth century.