In the course of history, many people died for different reasons like disease, war, aging, and accidents. But did you know deaths in war are one of many reasons why many people die? According to the New York Times, at least 108 people were killed in wars in the twentieth century. Estimated the total number of killed in wars throughout human history range from 150 million to 1 billion. And that is the estimated number, that number of people killed in war are counted just in the major battles in the major wars, but how about the wars that are not so major and people don`t talk about?
So why does war happens and what is it for? According to Owlcation, there are 8 main causes of war
1. Economic gain
Often wars are caused by one country`s want to take control of another country`s wealth. Many countries fight for economic supremacy to make themselves richer, and wealth is equivalent to power in the older days and even now.
In modern times, the resources that are hoped to be gained from war are oils, minerals, or materials for manufacturing. And some nations used wars to acquire thousand of slaves in different parts of the world.
2. Territorial Gain
The country might think that they need more land, either for living space, agricultural use, or other purposes.
Here are some historical examples of wars fought for Territorial Gain
- Mexican-American War (1046-1048)
- Serbo-Bulgarian War (1885-1886)
- Arab-Israeli War or the Six Days War (1967-1988)
3. Religion
One of the most common cause and often have a very deep root. They can lie silent for many years only to re-emerge in a flash at a later date. These kinds of wars are often related to other reasons such as revenge and nationalism,
Some Historical Examples of Wars Fought for Religion
- The Crusades (1095-1291)
- Thirty Years War (1618-1648)
- Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990)
- Yugoslav Wars (1991-1995)
- Second Sudanese Civil War (1983-2005)
4. Nationalism
This essentially means that attempting to prove that one`s country is better or superior to another by a violent act, often takes the form of invading another`s country
5. Revenge
Seeking to punish or simply strike back. This kind of war can result in an endless chain of wars that is passed from generation to generation, in this kind of war nobody wins until the day that both sides choose to stop the fighting.
Historical Examples of war fought for Revenge
- World War II (1939-1945) – this is the rise of the Nazi Social party the take over the European continent.
- War of Terror- the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center in 2001, prompted by President George W. Bush to initiate a war of terror. This global war began with the invasion of Iraq.
6. Civil war
This takes place when there is a disagreement within a country. The disagreement can be for the laws, who rules, how the country should run, and about the people's rights.
Historical Examples of Civil Wars
- American Civil War (1861-1865) – this war is about the long-standing controversy over slavery and fought by two opposing parties, the Union army, and the Confederate army.
- The Russian Civil War (1917-1923) – the Russian Civil War followed after the Russian revolution, fought by the Red Army and the White Army to determine the political future of Russia
- Spanish Civil war (1936-1939)
- Korean War (1950-1953)- the Korean War was a war fought between North and south Korea funded by China and the USA.
7. Revolutionary War
This kind of war can begin for many reasons, including economic hardships among certain sections of a population.
Historical Examples of Revolutionary Wars
- Portuguese Restoration War (1640-1668)
- American Revolution (1775-1783)
- French Revolution (1789-1799)
- Haitian Revolution (1791-1804)
8. Defensive War
Historical Examples of Defensive Wars
Iraqi Conflict (2003-?)
We all know that war will end in blood and suffering, we know the reason why wars are arising but did we do our move or our part to stop it? Or we think that we can swim in peace and wait until the war is at our doorsteps.
The photo is not mine.. It is from Unsplash