Your Favorite Period of European History from 1300-1900

[King of Rome]

I am curious as to how many people like what certain period of time. I apologize for not including other areas besides Europe, to me though it is the most intriguing.

I know the periods are general, but give it a whirl anyway.

Oh, and little explanation of why you like them, if you please.

PS, If you notice the 'T' is missing from Protestant. And that is because that is the new way to spell the word. Y'all can thank me latter.

 

[Anaxagoras]

The Age of Enlightenment, with the Victorian Era as a runner up.

 

[King of Rome]

Cool, what about those time periods do you like?

 

[Thande]

I like the 1700s, which is weird considering I hate just about every political movement it gave birth to.

 

[Avitus]

Renaissance definitely. Joan of Arc, Columbus, Constantine XI, Vlad Dracula, Galileo, Henry VIII, and the whole Habsburg family. All the fun of the middle ages with the added bonus of progress in feilds other than warfare. Plus (shameless promotion) that's when my TL is set

 

[Trotsky]

The period from 1492 to about the the French Revolution.

 

[LSCatilina]

Joan of Arc, Constantine XI, Vlad Dracula

Middle Ages (yes I know that the OP is saying Renaissance begin in the 14th century, but let's admit it's a typo).

Galileo

XVII century.

and the whole Habsburg family

From Middle-Ages to 1919

 

[King of Rome]

Hey don't blame me for mistakes. I am a Wikipedia scholar, and therefore always right.

 

[Napoleon53]

Definitely Napoleonic, followed by the Victorian Era. As an armchair general, what's not love about the Nap Wars? Napoleon is the most famous human after Jesus, (and that's a fact) and the orderliness of the era makes it easy to play with in alternate history. Same, essentially, for the Victorian Era, except Europe didn't rape itself then, which makes it less exciting. Don't forget that the American Civil War was Victorian, though, and that was what got me into history as a kid. Renaissance and such can be interesting, but the borders really do it in for alternate history to me, as it's just too complicated to keep track of. Plus, the leaders just seem less memorable.

 

[King of Rome]

Very cool, i like that analysis.

(For the record this thread does not endorse self-rape.)

 

[Napoleon53]

Very cool, i like that analysis.

(For the record this thread does not endorse self-rape.)

Danke.

Who are you to speak for the thread? If I want to endorse that, by gum I'll endorse it.

 

[Kome]

Middle Ages (yes I know that the OP is saying Renaissance begin in the 14th century, but let's admit it's a typo).

If thats a typo, imma need to change my vote.

 

[King of Rome]

That's a slippery tl slope my friend. First you endorse self-rape, then you spend the rest of your days constructing bland sealion and confederate victory threads. I have seen it happen to good authors. Ye has been warned.

Napoleonic Era though, without a doubt could win in a cage match with the other time periods.

We will keep the Renaissance starting in the 14th century, however late in the 14th century that may be, to preserve the integrity of Wikipedia.

 

[Napoleon53]

That's a slippery tl slope my friend. First you endorse rape, then you spend the rest of your days constructing bland sealion and confederate victory threads. I have seen it happen to good authors. Ye has been warned.

Napoleonic Era though, without a doubt could win in a cage match with the other time periods.

Oh, no, I suddenly feel the urge to write a Confederate Victory TL! It's true. How about one where the Rebs win Gettysburg?



Oh, yes, and there are still unexplored regions during the Nap Wars, which entails studying colonization. To me it's just the right mix of modernity and old fashionism.

 

[John Fredrick Parker]

I suppose I could go by my TL idea frequency. But if we're restricting it to "European History", the list narrows considerably.

There are a few that come in the 18th and 19th centuries, but most deal with imperial/non-European relations. Of the exceptions, I've got one in the early 18th, one in the French Revolution, two in the world of ideas, one dealing in alternate industrial policy, and two dealing with the geopolitics of latter 19th Century Europe.

Between 1300 and 1700 -- one deals with the Protestant Reformation, while two ideas concern the age of Discovery (but are primarily concerned with the world beyond Europe), not counting another that deals primarily with 17th Century colonization.

That would indicate the interest in the Victorian Era, but that's hardly true when looking at my general historical interests. Long story short, not sure how to vote...

 

[Jonathan Edelstein]

18th century, followed closely by 17th - the beginning of modernity and some fascinating moments in the history of law. You'd never know it from my activity here, though.

 

[Gallowglass]

Definitely the industrial revolution. A product of being brought up on Fred Dibnah's shows and engineers for grandfathers, I think.

 

[Revolutionary Todyo]

Victorian era (with the post-1900 addition of the Great War and Interbellum) as it saw the birth of the modern world.

 

[Falecius]

I like the period roughly corresponding to the XVII century (let's say, from the end of religion wars in France to the War of the Spanish Succession if you want to enjoy with periodizing) though it does not seem to have been outlined as such in the OP.
It was the time when modern ways of thinking as we know them took shape, especially but not exclusively in science and philology, laying the fundaments for Enlightenment. Though in a sense, I found those earlier people more enlightened than, say, Voltaire.
Moreover, it is a neglected time. Everybody focuses on Renaissance and Enlightenment and nobody cares about the era modern science and, in part, modern states were instituted.
Second, the age you Anglocentrist call Victorian, a time of cultural madness and glory which I find fascinating and that left a lot of ideological heritages still alive too this day, most of them rather horrible.

 

[wolf_brother]

I wish I could have voted for Victoria Era and French Revolution. Anything with a POD prior to 1793 very quickly becomes too alien for the reader to relate to as the butterflies wrap the context and perception - at least IMHO. The Revolutionary Era and afterward is a nice starting point for a period of time where most of the foundations of the OTL modern world exist, but the exact institutions within that framework have yet to fully form. It leaves enough of OTL for the reader to be able to relate to your work and understand what you're putting out there, but still leaves plenty of room as a writer to play with.