War in Vietnam, The Opium War, and World War I Essay

War in Vietnam, The Opium War, and World War I - Essay Example In the 1970s, the globe averaged 31 wars each year. In the 1980s, the globe averaged more than 40 wars each year. In the 1990s, the globe averaged more than 40 wars each year. In 1992, the world hit a peak of 51-armed conflicts going on simultaneously. In 2002, there are 38-armed conflicts under way.Most of these conflicts since 1945 have been in the Global South and most have been civil wars (Kegley and Wittkopf 2004). The Vietnam War, Opium war, and the World War 1 were some of the bloodiest and most complicated war in human history. The people and governments involved in these conflicts found it hard to resolve the war easily because of their underlying deep-rooted causes. Some of the countries involved resort to conflict for varied reasons, but mostly fought for nationalism. Most North Vietnamese fought for their national interest while the U.S. fought for the preservation of Democracy. During the Opium War, the Chinese fought to defend their country from the harsh effects of opium trade while the British fought to preserve their colonial and economic interest. Moreover, the underlying causes of World War 1 were the intense nationalism that permeated Europe throughout the 19th and into the 20th century, the political and economic rivalry among nations, and the military buildup that occurred after 1871, when Germany emerged as a great world power (Harvey 2005). The differences in the goals for g oing into war of these countries contributed to the difficulty in achieving peace among them. The main reason why the war in Vietnam is difficult to contain is that it was caused by many conflicts in the past. The American involvement and the Vietnam War did not happen overnight. The Vietnam War developed as a sequel to the struggle (1946-54) between the French, who were the rulers of Indochina before World War II, and the Communist-led Viet Minh, or League for the Independence of Vietnam, founded and headed by the revolutionary leader. Ho Chi Minh. Having emerged as the strongest of the nationalist groups that fought the Japanese occupation of French Indochina during World War II, the league was determined to resist the reestablishment of French colonial rule and to implement political and social changes (Harvey 2005). Following the surrender of Japan to the Allies in August 1945, Viet Minh guerrillas seized the capital city of Hanoi and forced the abdication of Emperor. Bao Dai. On September 2, they declared Vietnam independent and announced the creation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, commonly called North Vietnam, with Ho Chi Minh as president. France officially recognized the new state, but the subsequent inability of the Viet Minh and France to reach satisfactory political and economic agreements led to armed conflict beginning in December 1946. With French backing Bao Dai set up the state of Vietnam, commonly called South Vietnam, on July 1, 1949, and established a new capital at Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) (Harvey 2005). In most wars, the North Vietnamese were fighting for their nationalism and defending their land while the