NationStates Jolt Archive

Simply put, what do you beleive is the single most important historical event in the history of the world? It would also be interesting to explain the reasoning behind this as well.

Poll, or no? I'll wait for the top choices to be nominated before I put one up, mabye.

the building of stonehenge. nuff said

The Apollo 11 moon landing. It was out of this world!

...

I am so sorry.

making fire...

When the first intelligent creature in our species' family tree was born.

Fall of the Roman Empire. The world enters into its thousand year barbaric period.

Hiroshima?
Pearl Harbor- ended an era of American semi-isolation and is one of the primary reasons why the US military is everywhere. After all, why would you want to attack the US when they have a base in your country?
birth of Christ-led to things from the inquisition and the crusades to many good things. Ok, I can't name any right now. That doesn't mean that Abrahamic religions are evil.

What a stupid question.

Tehre isn't one, history is just too large.

The first written record. Anything before that is just prehistory.

Hard to say, maybe when that Bosnian insect shot the Archduke Ferdinand.

the building of stonehenge. nuff said

Hush now. You might one day find yourself driving your car into a ravine after accidently shooting yourself in the back of your head.
FNORD

Hmmm... Well, in a thousands years the may view it as when all the Heads of States of the world signed a treaty creating one World State.

Man hits man with rock.

Man hits man with rock.

yup, that ones it.

Or wait? is it...

Then later, Man hits man with rock, in the name of God.

Simply put, what do you believe is the single most important historical event in the history of the world? It would also be interesting to explain the reasoning behind this as well.When Meskiagkasher/Cush set sail to travel from Mesopotamia to northeastern Africa and set in motion what subsequently led to the Egyptian high culture.

yup, that ones it.

Or wait? is it...

Then later, Man hits man with rock, in the name of God. Try: Man hits rock with rock, to create fire.

yup, that ones it.

Or wait? is it...

Then later, Man hits man with rock, in the name of God.Now, do they?

Try: Man hits rock with rock, to create fire.
...in the villages of his enemies...

Bringing down of the Berlin Wall, certainly recently, anyway.
Or the Fall of the Roman Empire. Or Luther's Reformation.

Bringing down of the Berlin Wall, certainly recently, anyway.
Or the Fall of the Roman Empire. Or Luther's Reformation.Reformation? What did Luther reform?

well, obviously discounting stuff that happened in prehistory like the Big Bang, formation of the solar system, formation of Earth, first life, the cambrian explosion, extinction of dinosaurs, evolution of mammals, evolution of hominids, evolution of humans, development of language, agriculture etc... I think it'd have to be the invention of writing. Obviously historically important, simply because the start of the written word marks the beginning of history in a region; so without writing there would be no history. Of course writing was invented independently at least 3 times: in the Middle East (maybe twice if Egypt developed it independently of Mesopotamia), in China, and in Mexico. However seeing as the Sumerians in Mesopotamia did it first, chronologically speaking, and that that their innovation went on to influence the development of more daughter writing systems than did either Chinese or Mayan, I'd put specifically the invention of Sumerian cuneiform as being the most important moment in history.

Reformation? What did Luther reform?

How about simply saying "Luther's schism of the traditional Church" was an important event in history.

Birth of Jesus ;)

Birth of Jesus ;)

I'd say the death of Jesus :)


Or the hatching of the first Jew.

Unity of Prussia-Brandenburg.

I'd say the death of Jesus :)


Or the hatching of the first Jew.




I have an even better one! The birth of Max Barry! With out that, there'd be no NS!

I'd have to go with the invention of global mass communication. Whether you equate that with the telegraph, radio, television, satellites or the internet is up to you, but the ability to communicate around the world, unfettered by borders or the need for travel was/is world-altering in its scope and effect.

I'd say the death of Jesus
Or the hatching of the first Jew.So bad historical moments also count?

So bad historical moments also count?

which one was bad? Jesus saved us from our sins :p, and the jews created money and banks, and interest rates.

Nothing wrong with that ;)

I'd have to go with the invention of global mass communication. Whether you equate that with the telegraph, radio, television, satellites or the internet is up to you, but the ability to communicate around the world, unfettered by borders or the need for travel was/is world-altering in its scope and effect.

imo it's far, far too soon to tell how important that'll be.

discovery of fire or the wheel

which one was bad? Jesus saved us from our sins :p, and the jews created money and banks, and interest rates.

Nothing wrong with that ;)jesus obviously saved nothing from sin, and without jews there would be no sin someone would need saving from

discovery of fire or the wheelyes, the potter's wheel

Fall of the Roman Empire or America's independence, recently.

I'd say the death of Jesus :)


Or the hatching of the first Jew.

"Hatching"?

Editorial comment or attempt at cuteness?

Fall of the Roman Empire. The world enters into its thousand year barbaric period.

The world? oh yeah, I forgot that it begins at the mouth of the Mediterranean and ends just slightly east of the Dead Sea. How silly of me.

imo it's far, far too soon to tell how important that'll be.

Really. So being able to see what life is like in Africa without having to actually GO there isn't important? Not needing to wait weeks or months for a message to get from Rome to Santiago isn't important? You, my friend, have a very odd notion of importance.

The most important event in human history occurred when the citizens of Rome required their rulers to write down and display the laws of Rome, and enforce that everyone be subject to those laws.

The Rule of Law is the cornerstone of advanced civilization. Without it, there can be no true liberty, no freedom of conscience, word or deed. And that is when it was born.

The world? oh yeah, I forgot that it begins at the mouth of the Mediterranean and ends just slightly east of the Dead Sea. How silly of me.
It was a very chaotic period around the world. Altough I wouldn't call all civilizations back then barbaric, it was a dark age for the entire globe.

The Fall of Atlantis.

That was a good many thousands of years ago, but set in motion the rise of many civilizations and its effect on history was forever more.

It was a very chaotic period around the world. Altough I wouldn't call all civilizations back then barbaric, it was a dark age for the entire globe.

All periods in history are chaotic. There was nothing particularly noteworthy or extreme about the chaos in the millenium after the fall of Rome. Heck, the entire history of the Roman Empire can be boiled down to a chaotic catalogue of invasions, wars, uprisings, political intrigue and dramatic social changes. Even the much lauded Pax Romana was still punctuated by internecine strife and continual military campaigning.

The most important event in human history occurred when the citizens of Rome required their rulers to write down and display the laws of Rome, and enforce that everyone be subject to those laws.


Are you sure you're not getting Rome and Babylon confused? Codex Hammurabi, and all that?

All periods in history are chaotic. There was nothing particularly noteworthy or extreme about the chaos in the millenium after the fall of Rome. Heck, the entire history of the Roman Empire can be boiled down to a chaotic catalogue of invasions, wars, uprisings, political intrigue and dramatic social changes. Even the much lauded Pax Romana was still punctuated by internecine strife and continual military campaigning.
However under the Romans technology improved much more rapidly then during the dark ages.

When Moonwatcher first came in contact with the Monolith.

The first episode of Star Trek... most definatly...

ermm.... or when Humans first walked the earth

Are you sure you're not getting Rome and Babylon confused? Codex Hammurabi, and all that?

No. The Code of Hammurabi was the first written code of laws, yes, but it was one that could be changed on a whim by it's creator - to wit, Hammurabi himself. Thus, it really didn't apply to him, or anyone he didn't want it to.

What the Romans did that was so revolutionary was imposing the Law on the lawmakers. No more changing the statutes if you got caught with your hand in the money jar. The law was greater than any man.

The Romans didn't hold on to that revolution, but it has inspired the rule of law in other nations ever since.

The moment I was "born", without which none of you figments of my imagination would exist.

The Apollo 11 moon landing. It was out of this world!

...

I am so sorry.

Not as sorry as you're going to be. [/menacing voice]

:D

This has been done before, and it was Marathon then, and so it is now.

However under the Romans technology improved much more rapidly then during the dark ages.

True, but in other fields the Roman Empire was a brake on progress rather than an accelerant. Although it may have been a culture which was pretty darn good at applied technology and not too shoddy at social planning, it wasn't so hot on philosophy, mathematics or the natural sciences comapred to what came before and what came after.

Whenever the first Simpsons' episode was aired.

NSG goes on line ;)

ZOMG, teh Kennedy shooting! :sniper: :sniper: :sniper: :sniper: :sniper: :sniper:


Seriously, I don't know. That's an impossible question.

How did this thread get to the fourth page without this answer?

My birth, obviously.

Though it may be a stupid answer, someone had to give it. Also, I wouldn't be around to answer if it were not for this event, so it must be rather important to any responder, no?

How did this thread get to the fourth page without this answer?

My birth, obviously.

Though it may be a stupid answer, someone had to give it. Also, I wouldn't be around to answer if it were not for this event, so it must be rather important to any responder, no?

I think Fiddlebottoms beat you to it.
Can't be any stupider than my response.

The Angles and Saxons and Jutes land on the shores of Britian

Invention of Beer, closely matched by the inventions of wine and grain alcohol.

I think Fiddlebottoms beat you to it.
Can't be any stupider than my response.

Dang. I guess my reading went sloppy after the first 3 pages...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Baghdad_%281258%29

The birth of Christ, the birth of Mohammed, or Christ's crucifixion, IMO.

There were many. But in terms of modern Western history, it might have been the coronation of Wilhelm I. of Prussia as Emperor of a unified German Empire.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/Reichsgruendung2.jpg

Fall of the Roman Empire. The world enters into its thousand year barbaric period.

Excuse me? Flourishing civilisations in South and Mesoamerica, India, and China, the last of which dwarfs Rome, were barabarians?

I vote Salamis. The cradle of democracy is saved from one of the most hyper-absolutists regimes ever seen.

Fall of the Roman Empire or America's independence, recently.

So both count as recent, but nothing before that? Then I'd actually say the Wars of the Three Kingdoms (one of which was the English Civil War). That, and the Glorious Revolution. Without them, America would have turned out a whole lot differantly. Look at what France and Russia were like, and be glad you were our colony.

However under the Romans technology improved much more rapidly then during the dark ages.

I'm not sure about that. After a few centuries of Rome, then technology had definately improved, but after a few centuries of "Dark Ages", we had gunpowder and the printing press, two of the most important inventions ever made.

...The birth of Chuck Norris.

Well it depends on the region/continent.

In Europe though, I would probably say Manzikert in 1071. Ended Byzantine domination of Asia minor, led to the crusades and indirectly led to the age of discovery (Turkish dominance survived the Seljuk period into the Ottoman. The Byzantine empire was conquered by the Ottomans, trade between Europe and Asia is screwed up by the Muslim prescence blocking trade routes, Europeans seek their fortunes elsewhere).

This (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/the_big_bang) (since someone got the "Moonwatcher" one in before me. :p )

When the first caveman smashed his neighbour over the head with a rock and stole his food?

Otherwise, maybe when Faraday invented the electric motor.

Here are the ten most historical moments, in my opinion

Christ's crucifixion
Martin Luther nailing the 95 theses
Battle of Tours
Henry VIII screwing Anne Boleyn
Atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Battle of Tarutino
Fall of the Berlin Wall
September 11
Battle of Normandy
Captain Cook's voyages of discovery

It was a very chaotic period around the world. Altough I wouldn't call all civilizations back then barbaric, it was a dark age for the entire globe.

W.t.f?

The Indians and Chinese were doing just fine during the "dark ages of the world". Their combined cultural and industrial output accounted for more than half of the world's until euro-colonial-imperialism.

When the Magyar tribes settled in Europe...

10th June 1865, Munich: the first chord heard at the premiere of Tristan und Isolde by Wagner.

10th June 1865, Munich: the first chord heard at the premiere of Tristan und Isolde by Wagner.

whats so amazing about opra...I detest it :)

Much prefer Bach, Beethoven and Chopin...basically anything without an opra singer...

whats so amazing about opra...I detest it :)

Much prefer Bach, Beethoven and Chopin...basically anything without an opra singer...

The moment is more about the development of tonality and harmony than the genre it is in. Of course, there is a lot more in the opera that leads this direction, but essentially the first chord (and its following 'resolution') is the guiding light to where it is going.

Although, having said a single moment, the whole question is flawed, there is no single moment other than the Big Bang that is as important to the whole of history.

The world? oh yeah, I forgot that it begins at the mouth of the Mediterranean and ends just slightly east of the Dead Sea. How silly of me.

Yes, yes. I have Eurocentric view it seems. Then again, outside the Roman Empire there were only a few bright spots of civilization anyway.

I'm not sure about that. After a few centuries of Rome, then technology had definately improved, but after a few centuries of "Dark Ages", we had gunpowder and the printing press, two of the most important inventions ever made.

...both* of which, of course, had already been developed in Asia...



* well, printing with movable blocks of type and a framework wrt printing.

Here are the ten most historical moments, in my opinion

Christ's crucifixion

Mmk

Martin Luther nailing the 95 theses

Check

Battle of Tours

Righto

Henry VIII screwing Anne Boleyn

Eh? If you're looking at the divides of Christianity, I'd say Vladimir I's baptism was far more noteworthy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianization_of_Kievan_Rus%27

Atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Yeppers

Battle of Tarutino

Eh? Why this battle?

Fall of the Berlin Wall

I'd call that a stretch...if we're talking about the rise and fall of Communism, then why not the Russian Revolution?

September 11

Too recent in my mind, but you might be right.

Battle of Normandy

If we're talking WWII, I'd say Stalingrad and Midway were far more important.

Captain Cook's voyages of discovery

I'd put Columbus, Magellan, or even Lindburgh on the list before Cook




...yeah, history is fun. :)

Jesus dieing on the cross.

Eh? If you're looking at the divides of Christianity, I'd say Vladimir I's baptism was far more noteworthy.

As a Protestant, it was more the significance that it dragged England into Protestantism than as a mere divide of Christianity. Without England, I doubt that Protestantism would have survived.

Eh? Why this battle?

Because it marked the turning of the tide for Napoleon in Russia (and indeed in Europe). Prior to this battle, Napoleon had won virtually all his battles in Europe. After this battle, Napoleon lost virtually all his battles, and he was forced to retreat from Moscow.

I'd call that a stretch...if we're talking about the rise and fall of Communism, then why not the Russian Revolution?

Not so much the fall of Communism but the beginning of the end of the Cold War. From 1941 to 1991, the West (as a united group) was at war with Fascism then Communism.

If we're talking WWII, I'd say Stalingrad and Midway were far more important.

I would certainly agree, I placed Normandy there because, number one, it was the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany, and number two, it was the first major successful amphibious campaign (I read somewhere that the commanders read about Gallipoli before the Normandy invasion)

I'd put Columbus, Magellan, or even Lindburgh on the list before Cook

I placed Cook there because of a bit of bias; had it not been for him, the Frogs would have discovered us and more than likely took us over.

I also agree that history is fun, especially all the what if scenarios

I would certainly agree, I placed Normandy there because, number one, it was the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany, and number two, it was the first major successful amphibious campaign (I read somewhere that the commanders read about Gallipoli before the Normandy invasion)

Okay, firstly, the turning of the tide on the Eastern Front was much more important beginning of the end, and secondly, what about the amphibious campaigns in Italy, Sardinia and North Africa never mind those of the Pacific?

Okay, firstly, the turning of the tide on the Eastern Front was much more important beginning of the end, and secondly, what about the amphibious campaigns in Italy, Sardinia and North Africa never mind those of the Pacific?

I would slightly disagree with you there. Nazi Germany could not have ever actually won the war after attacking the Soviet Union, so for Europe the question was really, what's next? Without the Normany invasion the Iron Curtain would have slammed down on the English Channel.

Yes, the Soviet stopping of Germany ranks higher as the turning point of WWII-Europe, in terms of the war. However, since it was also inevitable, it wasn't actually a turning point in history as there was no other possibility.

-snip-

what about the amphibious campaigns in Italy, Sardinia and North Africa never mind those of the Pacific?

What about them? The point made is that Normandy was and still is the most succesful amphibious invasion of all time. The ones you mentioned barely scratch the surface, compared to Normandy.
Quoting from wikipedia, plus the link

The Battle of Normandy was fought in 1944 between Nazi Germany in Western Europe and the invading Allied forces as part of the larger conflict of World War II. Over sixty years later, the Normandy invasion, codenamed Operation Overlord, still remains the largest seaborne invasion in history, involving almost three million troops crossing the English Channel from England to Normandy in then German-occupied France. It is most commonly known by the name D-Day.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Normandy

its the very first paragraph.

the most historically significant moment for the state of the world at the moment was probably the signing of the peace of westphalia treaties which basically set out the modern world system of nation-states and the ridiculous nationalism, sabre-rattling and wars for "national security" that goes along with them.

I continue to maintain that the single most historic moment was the moment that beer, my great bottled, kegged and canned demon-god was invented.

I was born, end of.