Why aren't the Napoleonic wars considered World War 0?

[WyomingKnott]

The Napoleonic wars spread over continents. Why, once the Great War got repeated and had to be numbered, was it (the Great War) not numbered 2, with Napoleon's adventures counted as World War 1?

Who wasn't involved that the earlier one didn't count?

 

[USAFRet]

Who wasn't involved that the earlier one didn't count?

USA.

 

[ctbaars]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleonic_Wars#mediaviewer/File:NapoleonicWars.png
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Participants_in_World_War_I#mediaviewer/File:WWI-re.png
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Participants_in_World_War_II#mediaviewer/File:WWII.png
China, Japan didn't participate but still a world wide participation considering the size of the world at that time. Now the location of the fighting. That's not worldwide in Nepoleonic Wars.

 

[WyomingKnott]

@USAFRet - I was afraid that that was the correct answer! So parochial of us

@ctbaars - I'll read up on that. Thanks in advance. I figured that Russia would count for bringing Asia into it.

 

[gropouce]

Russia didn't bring Asia to those wars.
The part of Russia we fought against were the european part. We didn't get beyond the Ural Mount.

Most of those wars were in Europe, so it's not worldwide.

 

[Pinhedd]

The Napoleonic wars spread over continents. Why, once the Great War got repeated and had to be numbered, was it (the Great War) not numbered 2, with Napoleon's adventures counted as World War 1?

Who wasn't involved that the earlier one didn't count?

The Napoleonic Wars aren't really considered to be a "world war" because they were isolated to conflicts between European powers and their colonies. Prior to 1945 Europe was in a near perpetual state of conflict so there was nothing out of the ordinary aside from the scale of warfare. The First World War was the first european-centric conflict to bring in non-colonial combatants from essentially every continent.

 

[chunkymonster]

The idea of calling WW1 and WW2 "World Wars" is a bit of a misnomer anyway.

The Manchester Guardian referred to a second possible Great War as WW2 as a result of the social and political upheaval from WW1.

However, it wasn't until after 1939 when Time Magazine began referring to WW1 actually as WW1 and then it was only to put WW2 in perspective. Until then WW1 was solely known as the Great War.

 

[4Ryan6]

Then what would they have named Napoleon Brandy, WW0 ? :lol:

 

[Reynod]

The idea of calling WW1 and WW2 "World Wars" is a bit of a misnomer anyway.

The Manchester Guardian referred to a second possible Great War as WW2 as a result of the social and political upheaval from WW1.

However, it wasn't until after 1939 when Time Magazine began referring to WW1 actually as WW1 and then it was only to put WW2 in perspective. Until then WW1 was solely known as the Great War.

Spot on.