Which centuries interest you the most?

[Vosem]

The relatively short 20th century (1914-1989) is probably the era I have read the most about, and answering something other than it is a lie, but I share HenryWallace's fondness for the Early Modern period, especially the period where the vast expansions of Russian and British power have begun (with the ascension of Peter the Great and the Glorious Revolution in England; I think the period from 1688 to something like 1763 is among the most fascinating eras in history, though that can be stretched out to like 1815).

Rather than the Peace of Westphalia or the French Revolution, I've often felt that 'modern' history to some extent begins in the late 1680s, with 1688-9 in many ways featuring the beginning of the buildup that led to the Cold War between what were fairly obviously the successors of the early modern Russian Empire and the early modern British Empire. I think the discovery of calculus and publication of the Principia are an underrated turning point; after this point you start seeing various low-hanging fruit in progress (like the flying shuttle, or smelting with coke, or livestock inbreeding) falling and people truly believing that the human condition is not static, which is the absolute bedrock of an attitude towards life that can be called 'modern' in some way.