The Long 19th Century (1789-1914) has always been my favorite.
That would be #1 on my list of most overrated centuries. It's frustrating how much attention the 1800s gets, while the more than 100 years between the end of the 30 Years' War and the start of the 7 Years' War is largely neglected. I've just always found struggles of ideology and nationalism to be far less intriguing than dynastic power politics. The period encompassing the late 17th and early 18th centuries - with its constantly shifting alliances, wars of succession, and conflicting political and religious interests of the various states - was truly the peak of European diplomacy and grand strategy. Not to mention the peak of art, music, and culture on the continent.
So you're just gonna ignore the change that the 19th century was for the average person? In 1800, lots of people outside of England were living the same lives that their ancestors had for hundreds or even thousands of years. By 1899, there was a modern, industrialized world with trains, cars & bicycles, photography, electrification, telegraphy, a media revolution, & modern states. There were only farmers & aristocrats before the 19th & by its end, there was a whole new class: workers. Kings lost their influence to the bourgeoisie; democracy gained strength. Such is all to say that a person born in 1800 was still living in pre-modern world; by 1900, we were in the modern world.
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