Why Does Mankind Make War: Lessons on History

It seems ever since civilization first sprang up there has been war. Even before that, there are many records of violence-though on not as a large of a scale.

Why does mankind war? Usually it has been about power: The attaining of wealth, status, empires, and freedom.

Wealth

There is a reason countries like Spain and England were rich during the early centuries of colonization in the Americas: They sought out gold and took lands from Native Americans. Rather than going into all the harsh realities, and making both these countries villains, it seems initially the Spanish were more apt to kill than the English. The Aztecs and Incas disappeared almost completely for a reason.

But wealth was around long before that; and Native Americans sought out power just as European countries did.

Many Native Americans died of disease-which is an entirely different history lesson.

On the point of colonization it should be said that the moment in history when Columbus found the Americas-thinking it the East Indies-the only reason the expedition was sent by the Spanish was to acquire wealth. There was never an intent to make war on the Native Americans, but it boiled down to the fact many were rich and European countries could not resist the lure of wealth, just like in modern times.

Status

From the rise of the Greek city-states, the rise of the Roman Republic, the evolution of European monarchies, to even the founding of the United States, much has been about status. Wars have occurred for this: There was a slave revolt in the Greek state of Sparta at one point, and that occurred because the slaves obviously wanted to be as free as their owners; there were hundreds of minor and major wars over status during not only the imperial ages of Europe but far into the medieval times. People with bloodlines to power enacted civil wars, as seen in the English War of the Roses.

Empires

This ties directly into wealth, as empires used to be the chief concern of rising powers. The Persians wanted to increase their holdings, so they invaded Greece several times in the ancient era. More up to the present, the Reich wanted to spread the Aryan nation across the world, so they invaded Poland and enacted the Second World War. Empires are built upon the wealth made in wars, dating back to the first civilizations.

Freedom

What makes a country free? The United States would be a good example, though it could be said the country was not free until slavery was abolished. The most famous cause for freedom was the American Revolution, but the French Revolution and the end of the French Monarchy was key in developing republics in Europe, no matter how fast they occurred.

War has always been about these absolutes, sometimes combined, other times with other major additions. The chief concern of those who are free would be to keep it that way for future generations. By doing this, wars can be avoided.