At wars they are armed conflicts that happen for different reasons, such as religious disagreements, political and economic interests, territorial disputes, ethnic rivalries, among other reasons. In history, they are studied by a branch known as Military History, which is dedicated not only to understanding great wars, but also to studying the notion of armies.
One of the great theorists of modern warfare was the Prussian military Carl von Clausewitz, responsible for establishing ideas such as the total mobilization of a State for war. Events like World War I and World War II are perfect demonstrations of the state of total war. To avoid excesses, the Geneva Conventions were established.
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Wars in History
Until the nineteenth century, wars were one of the greatest focuses of study for historians. History, from this traditional perspective, typical of that century, turned to the study of great events, great deeds and great men. Thus, conflicts were a granary full of events and important personalities to be explored.
This traditionalist view lost strength in the 20th century, and new objects and methods began to be used for research. Still, wars remained an important agenda, as they are catalysts for significant change.
Currently, the field of history that is dedicated to the study of conflicts and matters relating to military issues is known as HistoryMilitary. This area focuses on the motivations that led to the beginning of the fighting, as well as trying to understand the main events in the course of wars and what are the transformations caused by the end of a conflict.
Military History also studies the evolution of the militarist field, whether in the question of war strategies, or in the technological evolution of weapons and uniforms. Finally, the way in which war is seen and the formulation of military groups throughout history are also studied from this perspective.
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understanding the war
The war has always been the subject of intense studies and, as such, it has received reflections from many people throughout history. This reflection and analysis is not the achievement of modern man, as one of the best-known treatises on war is by a Chinese military strategist named sunTzu.
There are a number of controversies about this treatise, especially about its dating and whether in fact it only contains writings by Sun Tzu. Anyway, Sun Tzu's book, known as The art of war, is understood as the oldest treatise on this subject. Therefore, we can see that man's interest in war is longstanding.
We also know that well before Sun Tzu wrote his treatise (it is estimated that it was written between the 5th century BC. Ç. and III a. C.), war was already a reality in the life of humanity. Archaeologists study traces that the prehistoric men they were already going to war; and on THEseniority, dominating war was essential to ensure the survival of a people.
On the importance of war in antiquity for the survival of a given people or empire, Sun Tzu already sentenced:
War is of crucial importance to the state. It is the realm of life and death. On it depends the preservation or ruin of the empire. It is urgent to regulate it well. Those who do not seriously reflect on the subject show a reprehensible indifference to the preservation or loss of what is most cherished. This shouldn't happen between us|1|.
Sun Tzu understood that war should be conducted in such a way as to be solvedquickly, since a long war would impoverish the kingdom, would be painful for the soldiers, would bring many deaths and would harm the honor of the one who was at the front of the soldiers. A very important feature of Sun Tzu's philosophy of warfare is his belief that even the lives of enemies should be spared, if at all possible.
This vision of war, as something to be quickly ended and looking to avoid a great the death toll of opposing armies has changed radically as the war has gone. modernizing. Modern warfare, in turn, has a great deal of theoretical formulation in the writings of CarlvonClausewitz, a Prussian military man who lived in the 18th and 19th centuries.
![World War I incorporated Clausewitz's ideas of war, being a conflict in which there was no mercy for the adversary.[1]](/f/5218c4277c51b0b2b427f7912413e8f9.jpg)
War from the modern point of view and which was theorized by Clausewitz is a phenomenontotal, according to the analysis of the geographer Demetrio Magnoli|2|. In this sense, it mobilizes the entire military and political potential of the State, ensuring that all possible resources are used for this purpose.
In Clausewitz's perception, concerns about avoiding bloodshed are a weakness, as he states that “war is a dangerous activity that the errors arising from goodness are the worst”|3|. Thus, Clausewitz understands that if one side of the war goes with the intention of saving lives, it already enters the conflict weakened. War for Clausewitz is therefore "an act of force". In his view, “there is no logical limit to the use of this force”.
This way of looking at war led to dramatic conflicts throughout the Contemporary age, especially in the 20th century. The horrors that were committed in wars, especially in the two world wars, led humanity to sanction terms to impose limits on human action during armed conflicts.
We are talking about Geneva Conventions, agreements that were made in conventions that took place in the years of 1864, 1906, 1929 and 1949. The merging of these agreements was revised and updated in the Fourth Convention in 1949. Through the Geneva Convention, terms were agreed so that prisoners of war, civilians, nurses, wounded soldiers, among others, were protected and treated with dignity.
The Geneva Conventions are an important covenantcivilization, which demonstrates that not even in a state of war horrors such as the inhuman imprisonment of prisoners and torture are allowed to take place. at the moment 196 countries ratify thes Convincingions of Geneva, making its application to be considered universal. Those who do not comply with the determinations are subject to judgment in the International Criminal Court, located in The Hague, Netherlands.
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Great Conflicts in the History of Humanity
Human history is marked by conflicts, and very rare were the years in which no war took place on the planet. The 20th century, for example, was marked by clashes in different parts of the world, some of which were extremely traumatic and striking.
Check out the following ten major conflicts that marked humanity:
Second World War (1939-1945): conflict that split the world into an Axis against the Allies and caused the deaths of 60 to 70 million people.
First World War (1914-1918): conflict motivated by rivalry between European powers at the beginning of the 20th century. It caused the deaths of 15 to 20 million people.
Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945): conflict initiated by the invasion of Chinese territory by Japan in order to transform it into a colony. It caused the death of about 20 million people.
Thirty Years War (1618-1648): conflict caused by religious rivalries that existed in Europe in the modern age. It caused the deaths of 5 to 8 million people.
Hundred Years War (1337-1453): one of the longest conflicts in human history, spanning 116 years. It was motivated by the dispute of interests between two dynasties. It is speculated that it caused the deaths of 2 to 3 million people.
Medical Wars (499-449 a. C.): one of the greatest conflicts in Greek history. They were initiated by the invasion of Greece by the Persians and stopped in two phases. Estimates are very imprecise as this is a very old conflict.
warsPunic (264-146 a. C.): conflict between Romans and Carthaginians for control of the Mediterranean Sea. It is estimated that between 1 and 2 million people have died.
Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815): conflict caused by the clash of interests of post-revolution France against those of absolutist nations. It is estimated to have caused 3 to 7 million deaths.
RebellionTaiping (1850-18646): civil war that took place in China for political and religious reasons. It is estimated that up to 30 million people died in this conflict.
Russian Civil War (1918-1921): war started with the aim of overthrowing the socialists who had taken power in Russia. It is estimated to have caused the deaths of around 10 million people.
Grades:
|1| TZU, Sun. The art of war. Porto Alegre: L&PM, 2013, p. 21.
|2| MAGNOLI, Demetrius. Introduction. MAGNOLI, Demetrius (ed.). History of Wars. São Paulo: Contexto, 2006, p. 12.
|3| CLAUSEWITZ, Carl von. Of war. To access, click on here.
Image credits:
[1] Everett Historical and Shutterstock
By Daniel Neves
History teacher
