Modern history  

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The term Modern era, Modern period, or Modern Times is used by historians to loosely describe the period of time immediately following what is known as the early modern period. It is to be distinguished from the term of Modernity.

1. The early modern period lasted from the end of the 15th century to the middle of the 18th century, circa 1450 (moveable type printing press etc) and 1492 (start of European Colonialism) to 1750 (the Enlightenment) and the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.
2. Modern Times are generally regarded as the period from the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century and continuing up to today. The documentation of this time period is often called Modern history.
3. Modernity, based on Modernism, explores the changes of society due to the industrial age.
4. Postmodernity, Postindustrialism are theories to apply the art movement term of postmodernism (below) to social and cultural history, or to refer to the change of the industrial society during the past fifty years when the industry was no longer the most predominant basis of economy and society; the prefix "post-" implies a reaction to modernity and in that sense does not cover all contemporary history.

Modernity on the other hand, describes large-scale developments of society (including literature and philosophy). Modernism describes an art movement. Neither applies to political, social, or series of events since either the fin de siècle or World War I in a strict sense.