Name the War Quiz

Maybe the Europeans saw it as a backdrop. Here in America, it was a very big deal. There were hopes of conquering Canada, and there were fears of losing our independence. 200 years later, we still sing a song about it as our national anthem.

Oh yeah, my bad. Both were pretty minor wars in the grand scheme of things though.

I wouldn't call the Revolutionary War minor at all. It was the beginning of the end for the British Empire, and the beginning of the United States of America. Two superpowers that completely dominated the world through most of the past 300 years. The beginning of the transition of the core of Western civilization from the old world to the new. With 100,000 or so casualties on all sides, the scale of the war was massive next to many others that make this list. If you consider it a minor war then it's puzzling why you'd even bother taking a quiz on wars at all. There are probably only a handful you'd consider noteworthy.

On the other hand, the War of 1812 was, indeed, pretty trivial. Though it is an interesting footnote to history that a lot of people don't know about, and again, if you're taking a quiz on wars then it's not beneath mentioning or knowing about. Certainly as significant as the Falklands Wars, Yom Kippur War, Trojan War, etc.

@kalbahamut, I think Ozchris may have been referring to 1812 and the Napoleonic wars in his 'both'. Again, not sure if I agree with the classification, but...

No, I was referring to the War of Independence as a minor war. In terms of amount of people fighting - definitely. It certainly doesn't compare to the Napoleonic wars. I guess it's affect on history gives it greater weight.

Well, Erikthev, that would depend on whether or not Obama was inside at the time...

.. Is there no such thing as respect for the leader of our country? He is a person, as we all are, and does have his flaws (Your political views notwithstanding)..

@kalbahamut, revolutionary war by no means beginning of an end for British empire. Nevertheless, the empire started its rising after this war, and was at its height until First World War.

I know, I know... you oversensitive little children can't take ANY comment that could possibly be construed to mean that the USA, symbol of all the reaons why your own countries are presently irrelevant, is in any way important. My fault for not being careful to not hurt your fragile egos. But I was not saying that the USA dominated the British Empire or began to eclipse its former master during the Revolution. That didn't happen until the 20th century. But it WAS the beginning of a series of events that led to the end of the Empire. And it was the first time a country gained independence from Britain. If you believe that losing the enormously lucrative colonies in North America that became the United States was not a significant blow, YOU are ignorant of history. Many historians even divide the British Empire into "first" and "second" empires, with the first ending at the American Revolution. The "second" empire remained strong through the World Wars after which point it collapsed.

Sure, you could say that, if you're the sort of person who is so staggeringly brilliant that you believe "beginning" and "end" are synonyms. And if you think that nothing that ever happens takes more than 30 seconds to unfold. I'm just flat out flabbergasted by how amazingly intelligent and sophisticated some of you people are. The depth of understanding in your comments leaves me speechless. Thank you, tshalla, for your ingenious perspective on this.

It was different, it was English people declaring independence from the mother country. By and large English public opinion has always been on the side of the American project. The empire continued to grow long after American independence. It was the world wars that broke the empire, and rightly so, dreadful way to carry on. We could no longer compete with American and Russian imperial ambitions, we were dead broke.

Again, "beginning of the end" does not mean "the end." The American colonies were a very significant part of the British Empire. Losing them was huge. And it was also the first time they had lost any colonies. Other losses would follow over the next 150 years, culminating in the end of an empire that had lasted for over 400.

If the American Empire falls, we might say that the beginning of the end was sometime in the 1980s when the country's democratic institutions started being auctioned off to corporations. But in all likelihood even if that happens the country will remain powerful and influential for at least another 50 + years. That doesn't mean you can't look back and figure out when events were set in motion that eventually led to a decline.

I meant lost in the sense that they had declared independence, not just changed hands to another colonial power.

Kahi: you're ridiculous.

Losing to the U.S. was more like losing an important player on the way to the Super Bowl.

of course the Revolutionary War was more major for the US than for the British Empire. But it still had enormous and profound implications for the British. Anyone saying otherwise simply doesn't know what they are talking about.

1812 was indeed fairly minor. Though it could have ended differently and if it had that would have had pretty major implications, as well. But it didn't.

Oh yeah, it was definitely a very minor war. The States basically threw a little hissy fit over some taxes, crossed a river and killed some Hessians, and made a clunky version of democracy. Of course, that was the beginning of the beginning of the end of world relevance for the United States.

Well, the most lasting impact in Britain of the War of Independence was probably that it enshrined parliamentary powers. To George III the war in the "colonies" was to have been the crowning achievement of his attempted power grab.

PS: when I went to school we still called the war of 1812 "Mr Madison's War" after the US president at the time.

That was not the most lasting impact the Revolutionary War had on Britain. Just going to remind myself that I'm not talking to any actual historians here.

Personally, I don't think it was the beginning of the end for the British Empire as a whole, which remained the dominant global power for more than a century. However, it was the end of the first wave of colonialism, based in the Americas, characterized by direct European colonization, mercantilism, raw resource extraction, etc. The imperialism that came in the 1800s was very different. Also, the American Revolution directly inspired Latin American independence, which finished off Spain and Portugal as world powers. So, while I wouldn't consider it an end for the British Empire, I'd say it led to a massive restructuring in European politics and how (and where) they administered their empires.

And, I'm surprised no one had mentioned this, but the American Revolution also influenced the French Revolution, the latter of which had massive implications. If America hadn't gained independence, I doubt it, or the Napoleonic Wars, would have even happened.

yes, that, and a lot of other things. It had massive, massive implications for Britain and for the world. Read a history book on the subject sometime. Seriously. Any of them. Written by serious historians of any nationality. The colonies were *hugely* profitable and important to the Empire. Their gaining independence was the first time in the history of European colonialism that this had happened. The repercussions were gigantic. This isn't a controversial opinion. Disagreeing with it doesn't mean you are disagreeing with me, personally. It puts you at odds with the established consensus. But, I know, that while when I'm commenting I'm concerned mostly about what's true and right, others do it for reasons other than that. Because I always think it's funny when other people accuse me of commenting out of vanity, or jingoism, or national pride, or political bias... and I just don't think about these things usually. But other people must or they wouldn't see them so often in others.

How about racism?

but the jews aren't really a race are they?

Whoopi Goldberg would like a word.

Antisemitism has always specifically referred only to racism against Jewish people. The term “Semitic” to refer to racial or ethnic groups of people is obsolete so it is inaccurate to say that Arabic people are Semitic (although linguists still sometimes refer to Semitic languages). Incidentally, Wilhelm Marr popularized the term “Antisemitism” to spread his hatred of Jews as a race. He did this because religious discrimination was becoming increasingly unpopular in academics during his time. This way, he used racial theory to justify his particular brand of racist Germanic supremacism. Also, the Jewish peoples aren’t a singular race, even if much of Europe saw Jews as a different race for centuries. Really, being Jewish is religious and ethnocultural primarily, but there is a correlation to particular races, and that depends on the Jewish population in question.

But that is exactly the thing you have to guess..

Gulf War more recent than any of those. The quiz is not intended to be comprehensive.

Who didn't help in that war. In fact, they probably physically couldn't have gotten weapons production going before it ended!

He's right you know.

had nothing to do with that.

He doesn’t seem to be complaining, but just sharing his experience.