Introduction
The First World War was more than merely a European conflict from its outset in August 1914. As this war progressed, more nations became involved making this war bigger in the years that followed. By 1918, the majority of the world’s population was officially at war, and even neutral countries were regularly participating in it in some form. Two big alliances faced a battle against one other in August 1914. These were Germany and Austria-Hungary on one side, shortly joined by the Ottoman Empire or the Central Powers. The Entente countries were on the opposite side, including France, Russia, and a collection of minor allies including Portugal, Belgium, and Serbia. They were shortly joined by Italy and subsequently by the United Kingdom. Hence, World War I has affected many states, and as the conflict progressed, more countries outside of Europe participated in it, which is why this conflict is a “world war.”
World War I
Although the combat was worldwide, many of the reasons for the First World War were domestic in nature. The first reason why this war affected many parts of the world was that the participating countries had colonies. Hence, even though from the onset the conflict took place in Europe, more states became involved later on. The empires of the European states spanned vast swaths of the world and housed many people. The British Empire was the largest one, and it reigned over enormous areas of North America, the Caribbean, Australia’s entire continent, and most of South Asia and Africa (Paice, 2019). Naturally, when the British Empire faced an armed conflict, its colonies and residents had to be involved as well. At that time, the British Empire had a population of 412 million people, but more than 80 percent of those people were Indian—and lived in India (Blakemore, 2019). Other British territories housed another 36 million subjects. In its vast dominion, Britain had just 44 million residents.
France also possessed a large foreign empire, mostly in the Caribbean, the Pacific Ocean, Africa, and Southeast Asia (Paice 2019). The Ottoman Empire reached all the way to Arabia. And Africa was colonized by Italy, Portugal, and Belgium. Russia’s immensity extended all the way from the eastern boundary of Europe to Asia’s Pacific Coast, despite the fact this land had few residents.
Due to the empires’ reach, the conflict was already worldwide when it first started in 1914. However, other countries across the world joined the Entente forces, including Japan in Asia, the United States in North America, and Brazil in South America, among others (Pires, Tato, & Schmidt, 2021). China was the largest neutral country, yet even they provided aid and laborers to the Entente. The Chinese government also declared war on the Central Powers in August 1917 (Pires, Tato, & Schmidt, 2021). The majority of the world was at war by late 1917.
The majority of soldiers at the start of the conflict were Europeans. However, the European empires quickly began to enlist the assistance of colonial warriors. Moreover, 1.2 million Indian soldiers were enrolled by the British Empire, accounting for more than a quarter of England’s total forces (Pires, Tato, & Schmidt, 2021). Nigeria sent 17,000 troops and 37,000 workers, and 332,000 Canadian troops fought, together with 444,000 from New Zealand and Australia (Pires, Tato, & Schmidt, 2021). France depended on 335,000 African troops, over 50,000 armed men from Vietnam and nearby countries, and a large number of laborers (UNESCO, n.d.). Russia used a large number of troops from Siberia and Central Asia. By 1916, Entente forces were joined in the trenches by more than 120,000 neutral Chinese laborers and eventually by about 2,000,000. Thus, people who lived outside of Europe in Asia, America, and Africa were forced to participate in this war due to their dependence on the empires.
Conclusion
In summary, World War I is considered a “world war” because people from different continents participated in it. Although initially, this conflict emerged in Europe, many states at that time had colonies in Africa, Asia, or America. Therefore, troops and workers from these colonies were sent to the battlefield. Thus, since people of different nationalities and states were involved in this armed conflict, the war of 1914 was indeed a “world war.”
References
Blakemore, E. (2019). What caused World War I and what were its effects? National Geographic.
Paice, E. (2019). The First World War in East Africa. British Library.
Pires, A., Tato, M., & Schmidt, J. (2021). The global First World War. Routledge.
UNESCO. (n.d.). The First World War and its consequences in Africa.