Recorded history began when human beings began to write, and it continues through today. Since written history covers a very long period of time, it is useful to connect events to time intervals. We use many types of time intervals in history to locate events in time: millennium, century, decade, year, month, day.
Millennia, which are 1000 years long, are used to designate the most ancient events.
Millenia are used to refer to the appearance of writing, which occurred about 3300 BCE (Before Christ or Before Common Era), because this event happened so long ago.
Writing appeared during the 4th millennium BCE.
Plusieurs évènements se déroulent avant Jésus-Christ. On peut identifier ces dates de 3 manières différentes.
| Avec la mention av. J.-C. après la date | Exemple : 3300 av. J.-C. |
| Avec un signe négatif devant la date | Exemple : -3300 |
| Avec l’expression avant notre ère après la date | Exemple : 3300 ans avant notre ère |
We can also use millennia to designate long historic periods.
Antiquity lasted nearly four millennia.
Did you know that we are in the 3rd millennium right now?
The first millennium began with the year 1 and ended with the year 1000.
The second millennium began with the year 1001 and ended with the year 2000.
This means that the third millennium began with the year 2001 and will end in 3000.
The millennia that ended before the beginning of AD (anno domini, or the years after the birth of Jesus Christ), or the equivalent CE (meaning Common Era), are counted in reverse.
The first millennium BC or BCE began with the year 1000 BCE and ended in the year 1 BCE.
The second millennium BCE began with the year 2000 BCE and ended in the year 1001 BCE.
The third millennium BCE began with the year 3000 BCE and ended in the year 2001 BCE.
Il n’existe pas à proprement parler d’an 0 en histoire. En effet, le calendrier passe de l’an -1 à l’an 1 directement.
Si tu veux en savoir plus sur notre calendrier et l’absence de l’an 0, consulte cet article.
History can also be divided into centuries. A century is a period of 100 years. This time interval is often used in history.
The 19th century was marked by industrialization.
The concept of a century is also used in cases where we cannot precisely confirm the year of an event or phenomenon. This often happens when we are studying longer periods, such as Antiquity or the Middle Ages.
Gothic architecture appeared in the 12th century.
We also use centuries to discuss events that do not have specific start or end dates.
The Women’s Liberation Movement began in the second half of the 20th century.
Centuries can also be used to designate the length of a period.
The Middle Ages lasted six centuries.
Did you know that we are in the 21st century today?
The first century began with the year 1 and ended with the year 100.
The second century began with the year 101 and ended with the year 200.
The third century began with the year 201 and ended with the year 300.
This means that the 21st century began with the year 2001 and will end in 2100.
In the centuries before the beginning of AD or CE, years are counted in reverse.
The first century BCE began with the year 100 BCE and ended in the year 1 BCE.
The second century BCE began with the year 200 BCE and ended in the year 101 BCE.
The third century BCE began with the year 300 BCE and ended in the year 201 BCE.
A decade lasts 10 years meaning that it is a shorter time unit than a century. We can express greater accuracy by using decades.
The 1960s included women’s fight for reproductive rights, such as access to the contraceptive pill and abortion.
In particular, we use the term decade to pinpoint intellectual movements, ideological currents, fashions and events that impact shorter periods.
The 1920s saw strong economic growth.
Disco was a musical genre that appeared during the 1970s.
When we need to be more accurate, we can cite an event by its year: the beginning and end of a war, a revolution, a reign, a significant discovery, etc.
In 1492, Christopher Columbus arrived in America.
The French Revolution began in 1789.
The First World War lasted from 1914 to 1918.
The First World War lasted 4 years.
This is a more precise way of identifying an event in time. The term month is used to indicate certain events that unfolded over a shorter period. This term is usually used in connection with events of the modern period or the contemporary period. Before these two periods, sources that specified the precise month when an event occurred were not as readily available.
Fidel Castro took control of Cuba in January 1959.
Jacques Cartier’s first voyage lasted nearly 5 months.
It can be useful to specify the day of an event if we know it.
Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon on July 20, 1969.
The second referendum on the sovereignty of Quebec was held on October 30, 1995.
This level of accuracy is helpful when events come one after another over a short period.
German troops invaded Poland on September 1, 1939.
The United Kingdom declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939.