What is change and continuity in history?

History is the study of change over time. All sorts of things change over time: empires, languages, ideas, technology, attitudes, etc.

Historians study different types of events through time and group these events based upon topics or themes. Breaking historical events up based upon categories makes it easier for people to identify changes and study the effects on people over time.

Some general categories of events include:

Watch a video explanation on the History Skills YouTube channel:

 ‘Change’ refers to something that is obviously different from what occurred previously.

Change in history usually occurs over a long period of time and it is often hard to pin-point an exact moment of change. Therefore, it is easier to choose two different moments in history and compare them. For example, comparing 2nd century AD with the 4th century AD, or the year 1600 with 1900.

However, when there is a sudden and clear change at a particular point in history, usually as the result of a single event, the event is usually referred to as a ‘Turning Point’ in history.

‘Continuity’ refers to things that stay the same, relatively unchanged, over time. 

Example questions for assessing Change and Continuity:

• What kind of historical development are you focusing on (e.g., religious, political, economic, cultural, etc.)?

• What was the situation like before this occurred?

• What was clearly different after this occurred?

• What were the direct causes of the changes?

• What were the reasons that some things remained the same?