18481930

1848–1930 is a historical span used to discuss the late 19th and early 20th centuries, roughly from the European Revolutions of 1848 to the early 1930s. The designation is employed to examine broad socio-political, economic, and cultural changes that helped shape modern states and societies. This period saw the maturation of industrial capitalism, the rise of mass politics, and the emergence of new national and imperial structures that would influence world history for decades.

Key developments of the era include the aftershocks of the 1848 revolutions, the unifications of Italy (1861) and Germany (1871), and the expansion of global empires. The latter half of the 19th century brought rapid urbanization, technological innovations, and the growth of liberal and democratic movements in some regions, alongside continued conservatism and colonial expansion elsewhere. Cultural and scientific currents—realism and modernism in the arts, as well as advances in physics, biology, and medicine—also helped redefine knowledge and society.

The early 20th century brought upheaval and realignment: World War I (1914–1918), the Russian Revolution of 1917, and the redrawing of borders and political systems in Europe and beyond. The 1920s featured economic volatility, attempts at monetary stabilization, and notable cultural experimentation, culminating in the stock market crash of 1929 and rising political extremism in various regions. Scholars use the 1848–1930 frame to capture a transition from 19th-century order to 20th-century modernity, with lasting implications for law, governance, economy, and culture.