Difference between fact, process and historical change –

Difference between fact, process and historical change. Not only when doing history work at school, we can get to confuse concepts such as what is a historical fact and a process. Many times it is difficult to define or explain where the difference between the two lies. To do this, we are going to proceed in this article to define what a historical fact, a change and a historical process, as well as to clarify and highlight the differences between the three aspects.

What is a historical fact

We call a historical fact, a event of the past that the historian considers relevant. We can say that they are actions, events, happenings. Historical events are characterized by being of short duration (hours, days, weeks).
Some examples of historical events: the storming of the Bastille the July 14, 1789stock market crash wall street in 1929the outburst in Melilla the July 17, 1936 that started the Coup to Second Republic, the attack on the Twin Towers in 2001. According to its characteristics, we can classify a historical event as political, military, economic, cultural, etc.

Historical events are not isolated events, nor do they just happen. all historical events is related to many other historical facts, anterior and posterior. That is to say, they are related to each other, in a complex network of multiple causes and consequences and are also what lead to any conflict, event or moment in history becoming transcendental.
One of the most important historical events in Western history and one that has had more relevance in recent years could be the «Battle of Thermopylae«, brought to the big screen, adapting the graphic novel by Frank Miller «300» based on this great battle between the huge army of the King Xerxes against a small contingent of Spartan warriors led by King Leonidasat that time they were the bravest and fiercest warriors in the known world

The historians seek historical facts related to each other (cultural, economic, political, social, etc.), and integrate them into a historical processthus gaining a more complete understanding of the society what are you studying.

What is a historical process

From analysis that we have done about the historical fact we can derive to the definition of historical process and that It will be a set of interrelated historical events.; and passes through time.
If we think about any of the examples of historical fact that we saw before, we can see that it is a consequence of other previous events, and it is also the cause of other later events. For example, the taking of the Bastille is part of a particular historical process such as the French Revolution.
Another example of a historical process would be the constitution of the Tokugawa Shogunate in Japan in the year 1603, an event that changed the history of the Land of the Rising Sun, ending the period Sengoku-Jidai (The Country at War Era) with the great victory of Eastern Army at the Battle of Sekigahara.

Each historical process is a period of time during which a society is organized in a certain way, and then it is transformed until entering a new historical period. Unlike the historical fact (which is of short duration), the historical processes are longer, They can last for years, decades, or even centuries.

What is a historical change and how does it occur?

As regards historical change, we can say that it supposes the fact of a change or transformation from an initial situation to an end situation, so that it occurs only during the course of time.

Within the historical change we can point out three types:

  • individual events or events: which are those that occur in people’s daily lives (such as an accident or an argument).
  • conjunctural changes: A group of events that are related to each other giving shape to a temporary situation. They are changes that last longer than individual events and as an example we can point to a economic crisis or an election campaign.
  • structural changes: These are changes in a given time with a beginning and an end but that affect large structures of society or politics as well as history. As an example we have the development of capitalism in the West or a demographic transition.

Based on what has been said, we can also say that a historical change in relation to the historical event and the historical process must be a conjunctural or structural change, that is, a change that affects a large structure or that lasts for a prolonged period of time. For example the French Revolution itself, that we mentioned before would be a historical change from the beginning to the end, where in addition the protagonists were aware and in fact, the promoters of said change since it was intentional.

On the other hand, historical changes can also be a reform, which occurs during a short period of time and which also has an intention, such as the Protestant Reformation carried out by Calvin and Luther.

Then we also have historical changes that take place over time but without the protagonists being aware of it, such as the hominization process.

In this way we can say that the historical change, would mark in some way both the historical fact and the historical processas we see below in more detail.

Difference between historical fact, process and historical change

As we have seen before the historical fact it is presented as an isolated event, despite the fact that it is always related, by cause or consequence, to other historical events. But the fact, in itself, is isolated. A historical event can be a sporting event, a scientific discovery or a battle in a war. However, a sporting event, a scientific discovery or a battle could never be a historical processsince the historical process is made up precisely of facts like these, which are called “historical facts”.

Instead a historical fact that can be the architect of a historical change, for example the assassination of Kennedy it was a historic event that led to a historic shift in US policy.

On the other hand, the prolonged historical change that marks structural change, will end up forming a historical process, that will be marked by the historical events that have led to change. The historical events cause changes that advance historical processess in one or the other direction. The interrelation of historical events and their succession in time is what gives general characteristics to a historical process. In turn, the historical process includes the word “process” in its nomenclature, which means that those historical events cause a change in culture and society of a certain area.

The historical facts most important have the power to provoke a historical change and mark a historical process. For example, the landing of man on the moon was a historical event that probably changed the future of the world. When Armstrong walked on the moonthere was a historical event (the first time that man set foot on the moon) but, in addition, it caused a change in history and greatly modified a historical process, that of the space race, which in turn was an essential part of the struggles between the US and the USSR during the Cold War. Although the Russians were ahead of the Americans up to that point, Armstrong’s landing on the moon was a historic event that changed the course of things.
It should be noted that when someone thinks of a historical event, change or process, they usually think of far-reaching historical events, changes or processes, which involved great advances, novelties or improvements in people’s way of life.
However, in the case of donethe word “historical” does not refer to a outstanding or new fact of his time, that is,historical» is not an adjective that should necessarily magnify the fact. On the contrary, in this case the word historical refers to history, with which it serves that the fact has occurred itself. What happens is that, for historical events to have relevance, they must be unusual, surprising, visionary or have important consequences.
In the historical change, that word “historical” does have a meaning as such since it supposes a period of time, in which the protagonists are aware of it to a greater or lesser extent and provoke said change so that finally the historical process, that on the other hand, to be considered as such is usually the object of study by historians.
There are also times when the historical facts gain importance with the passage of time, so that they end up becoming with historical changes. To give an example, at the time the napoleon birth it was not an important fact. However, with the passage of time and the importance that his figure acquired, the birth of this general can be considered a very important historical fact, which marks the birth of the general who would lead France to its European hegemony at the beginning of the 19th century and that will lead to a historical change and with it, that a historical process will take place.

Video of the most relevant historical events

Bibliography:

  • Academia Play’s history like you’ve never been told before, ISBN-10: 8491643338
  • More than 100 ideas to teach history by Julia Murphy; ISBN-10: 8499800777

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