does anyone know why the "centuries" are not the same as the dates? ex: 17th century=1600's, 15th cent.=1400's

Question

why is the number of the century one number higher than the date??

Answer 1

because the first century is from 0-100, once it gets to 100, the second century starts, and then the second century is 101-200 and so on

Answer 2

Because we don't say "the zeroth century" we start with "first century" so the second century starts 100 years after the beginning date and starts with the number 1. Actually, since in Western counting, we don't do a year 0, the first century runs from 1 to 100 and the second from 101 to 200 and the 20th century ran from 1901 to 2000 and you probably lived through the arguements about when the new century and millenium started (answer 1/1/2001, even tho all the celebrations were done 1999 to 2000 a year earlier.

Answer 3

Because the first century AD began with January 1, 1 AD and ended with December 31,100 AD.

Then the 2nd century began with January 1,101 and ended December 31, 200. The 3rd century ran from January 1, 201 through December 31, 300. And so forth.

The 15th century began on January 1, 1401 and ended on December 31, 1500.

The 17th century began on January 1, 1601 and ended on December 31, 1700.

Get it?

Answer 4

Because the first century AD began with year 1, so the first century was from 1 to 100. 2nd is from 101 to 200, and so on.

Answer 5

Because O AD was the 1st century, so 100 AD was the 2nd, and it went all the way to like the 1700 was the 18th, and now the 2000s are the 21st.

Answer 6

Because the year 1-99 was the 1st century, not 0 century.
100-199 is therefore the 2nd century, and so on.

Answer 7

Well, the first century pretty much sets the mold for the rest.
The first century starts with one and goes to 100, because it had to be referred to as something,

For instance, we're in the first century of the second millenium of the Common Era, but we haven't reached the year 2101 yet. If we didn't call this the first century (of the millenium) we'd have to call it the zero century (of the millenium)or something.

Answer 8

Year 0-99 is the first century.
100-199 is the second century.
200-299 is the third century...

...

Year 2000-2099 is the twenty first century.
Just has to do with counting- and that dates started from 0-99 in the first one.

Answer 9

because the calculation started from year 0.. and every 100 year is a century.. year 0 - 100 is the 1st century and so forth till the end of the world (it sounds dramatic) ;P

Answer 10

I've always wondered the same thing. Let's try making a chart:

5th cent=400s
4th cent=300
3rd cent=200
2nd cent=100
1st cent=0s

Do you see? You have to think of years in groups. Its not how many centuries have been completed, but how many centuries will be completed at the end of this century.

Hope that helps (I learned something too)