Years & decades

In history writing, some events are described on the scale of years or even decades.

Depending on the situation, that could mean that things were happening slowly—or they were happening very fast!

Assault on the Bastille (Source)

For example, the French Revolution took about 10 years and had a major impact on the rest of the world.

How does this snippet summarise that decade in 400 words?

French Revolution

The French Revolution took place between 1789 and 1799, leading to the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte.

Background:

In the late 18th century France was on the brink of bankruptcy due to its involvement in the American Revolution and King Louis XVI’s extravagant spending. This led to a people’s revolt against the inequalities of French society, the corruption of royal officials, and despair owing to widespread economic hardship.

A brief timeline:

20 June 1789: Collapse of Estates-General

The Estates-General (France’s equivalent to the British Parliament) collapses when members of the Third Estate – which represents ‘the people’ – form their own National Assembly, to campaign for constitutional reform. This is a bold challenge to the King’s authority. The French Revolution has begun!

14 July 1789: Storming of Bastille

A wave of revolutionary hysteria sweeps through Paris, leading to fears of a military coup. In retaliation, rebels storm the prison fortress of the Bastille, a symbol of royal authority. Paris falls from the King’s control.

22 September 1792: French Republic established

After a long period of debate about how the new constitution will work, the French Revolution takes a radical turn when revolutionaries arrest the King. The following month, on 22 September 1792, the National Convention is established. This proclaimed the abolition of the monarchy and established the French Republic. The King is tried and, on 21 January 1793, he is executed as a traitor.

June 1793: Reign of Terror begins

Following the King’s execution, France goes to war with various European powers. This signals the most violent phase of the French Revolution. Infighting within the National Convention marks the start of the bloody Reign of Terror (la Terreur), a year-long period in which suspected enemies of the revolution are killed in their thousands.

1795: The Directory takes power

A new regime – the Directory – takes power in France in 1795. The internal political situation remains unstable, but is silenced by the army, now led by a young general Napoleon Bonaparte. There follows a period of successes in war.

9 November 1799: Napoleonic era begins

The Directory’s four years in power are a failure, with them ceding much power to the military to maintain order. On 9 November 1799, as frustration with their leadership reaches a fever pitch, Bonaparte stages a coup d’état, abolishing the Directory and appointing himself France’s ‘first consul’. This marks the end of the French Revolution and the start of the Napoleonic era.

French Revolution

This was a decade jam-packed with violence and turmoil.
Even though it skims over a decade, this snippet does name a few key people and organisations (Napoleon, the King, the Directory, etc). Some historical descriptions don't name anyone!
The timeline structure in this snippet is rigid but easy to read. Notice the repeated date, event, details, and meaning pattern it uses repeatedly.
Also, notice the linking phrases when they explain the meaning of the event: "This proclaims... this marks... this signals..."

Chicago during the Great Depression (Source)

Another decade-scale event that changed the world was the Great Depression.

How does this snippet describe the catastrophic events of 10 years in 150 words?

Great Depression

The longest and most severe economic downturn ever experienced by the industrialized Western world, the Great Depression began in 1929 and lasted until about 1939.

It caused drastic declines in output, severe unemployment, and acute deflation in almost every country of the world. For Americans, the 1930s conjures images of breadlines, shuttered factories, rural poverty, and homeless families seeking refuge in shelters cobbled together from salvaged wood, cardboard, and tin. Bank panics destroyed faith in the economic system, and joblessness limited faith in the future.

In 1934 the worst drought in modern American history struck the Great Plains. Windstorms stripped topsoil and turned the whole area into a vast Dust Bowl, destroying crops and livestock and displacing some 2.5 million people. Aggressively combatted by the New Deal policies of the administration of Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Great Depression spawned fundamental changes in economic institutions, macroeconomic policy, and economic theory. Its social and cultural effects were equally staggering.

"Great Depression"

Unlike the French Revolution snippet, this snippet mentions no specific people or organisations, except for the detail about Roosevelt.
Some of the events are described as "what comes to mind for Americans"—so it's both a description of events and a description of cultural memory.

Let's use the natural disaster theme of our last activity to practice describing events on a year or decade time scale.

Imagine you're a 25th-century historian describing significant natural disasters from the 21st century.

Write a brief description of a slow-moving disaster such as a drought or sea-level rise that spanned years or even decades.

Use your imagination for the details, but use the snippets above for ideas on how to span time.

Aerial shot of a city flooded due to sea level rise

Imagine this was a long time-scale natural disaster in the 21st century

To help you out, here are some phrases from the snippets above:

The French Revolution took place between 1789 and 1799...
In the late 18th century, France...
Infighting within the National Convention marks the start of...
1795: The Directory takes power
The Directory’s four years in power are...
After a long period of debate...
The most severe economic downturn began in 1929 and lasted until about...
For Americans, the 1930s conjures images of...
In 1934 the worst drought in...
The Great Depression spawned fundamental changes in...

Write a brief historical description of an imagined natural disaster that spanned years or decades of the 21st century.

The Big Soak stands out as a pivotal chapter in the saga of 21st-century climate change. This slow-moving disaster unfolded over decades, primarily affecting the southeastern United States, a region known for its vibrant cities and significant economic contributions.

The Big Soak was characterised by a relentless rise in sea levels throughout the 2050s and 60s, when frequent flooding started to disrupt daily life in low-lying coastal cities like Miami, Charleston and New Orleans.

By the late 2070s, Miami, once a bustling metropolis, had succumbed to the encroaching waters, which turned its streets into canals and its districts into disparate islands.

The economic ramifications were severe, as key industries such as tourism, agriculture, and manufacturing faced continuous disruption. The inundation of major ports in the Gulf Coast and along the Eastern Seaboard crippled the logistical backbone of the region, leading to a reconfiguration of trade routes and supply chains.

The social impact of the Big Soak was equally staggering, with millions of residents displaced, creating a large-scale internal migration not seen since historical events like the Dust Bowl. The federal and state governments were compelled to initiate extensive relocation programs, which included the construction of new inland cities designed to accommodate climate refugees.

The Big Soak not only reshaped the geography of the southeastern United States but also forced a far-reaching reevaluation of urban planning and environmental policies.

Describing events at the year and decade scale lets us compress a lot of action into a handful of words—but at the expense of detail.

It's a handy scale for a quick summary; it can't convey the feeling of living through the events.

For that, we need to go to a smaller scale.

Describing historical events