The
2nd millennium
of the
Anno Domini
or
Common Era
was a
millennium
spanning the years 1001 to 2000. It began on January 1, 1001 (
MI
) and ended on December 31, 2000 (
MM
), (
11th
to
20th
centuries; in astronomy:
JD
2
086
667
.5
?
2
451
909
.5
[1]
).
It encompassed the
High
and
Late Middle Ages
of the
Old World
, the
Islamic Golden Age
and the period of
Renaissance
, followed by the
early modern period
, characterized by the
European wars of religion
, the
Age of Enlightenment
, the
Age of Discovery
and the
colonial period
. Its final two centuries coincide with
modern history
, characterized by
industrialization
, the rise of
nation states
, the rapid development of
science
, widespread
education
, and universal
health care
and
vaccinations
in the
developed world
. The
20th century
saw increasing
globalization
, most notably the two
World Wars
and the subsequent formation of the
United Nations
. 20th-century technology includes
powered flight
,
television
and
semiconductor technology
, including
integrated circuits
. The term "
Great Divergence
" was coined to refer the unprecedented cultural and political ascent of the
Western world
in the second half of the millennium, emerging by the 18th century as the most powerful and wealthy
world civilization
, having eclipsed
Qing China
, the
Islamic world
and
India
. This allowed the
colonization
by European countries of much of the world during this millennium, including the Americas, Africa, Oceania, and South and Southeast Asia.
World population
grew without precedent over the millennium, from about 310 million in 1000 to about 6 billion in 2000. The
population growth
rate increased dramatically during this time; world population approximately doubled to 600 million by 1700, and doubled more than three more times by 2000, ultimately reaching about 1.8% per year in the second half of the 20th century.
Cultural and technological history
edit
The
Julian calendar
was used in Europe at the beginning of the millennium, and all countries that once used the Julian calendar had adopted the
Gregorian calendar
by the end of it. For this reason, the end date of the 2nd millennium is usually calculated based on the Gregorian calendar, while the beginning date is based on the Julian calendar (or occasionally the
proleptic Gregorian calendar
).
In the late 1990s, there was a dispute as to whether the millennium should be taken to end on December 31, 1999, or December 31, 2000.
Stephen Jay Gould
at the time argued there is no objective way of deciding this question.
[4]
Associated Press
reported that the third millennium began on 1 January 2001, but also reported that celebrations in the US were generally more subdued at the beginning of 2001, compared to the beginning of 2000.
[5]
Many public celebrations for the end of the second millennium were held on December 31, 1999 ? January 1, 2000
[6]
?with a few people marking the end of the millennium a year later.
Centuries and decades
edit
- ^
"Julian Day Number from Date Calculator"
.
High accuracy calculation for life or science
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Keeley, Larry (2007-02-16).
"The Greatest Innovations of All Time"
.
BusinessWeek
. The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Archived from
the original
on 7 December 2008
. Retrieved
2008-11-12
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
"The Big 100: the Science Channels 100 Greatest Discoveries"
. Discovery Communications, LLC. 2008.
Archived
from the original on 31 October 2008
. Retrieved
2008-11-12
.
- ^
Stephen Jay Gould,
Questioning the Millennium: A Rationalist's Guide to a Precisely Arbitrary Countdown
(New York: Harmony Books, 1999), ch 2.
- ^
Associated Press,
"Y2K It Wasn't, but It Was a Party"
,
Los Angeles Times
, January 1, 2001.
- ^
"Millennium FAQs ? Frequently Asked Questions"
.
When does the Millennium start?
. Greenwich2000.ltd.uk. 2008-08-12.
Archived
from the original on 12 January 2009
. Retrieved
2009-01-29
.