A ’Century of Peace’ That Was Not: War in the Nineteenth Century

When historians study the short nineteenth century (1815–1914), they usually see the century as one of peace. The assumption rests on the perception that European Great Powers did not engage in major wars with each other. Contrary to such assumptions though, the nineteenth century was a violent period with frequent and often bloody localized or regional wars. Some of these wars involved one or more of the Great Powers. Especially the middle decades of the nineteenth century witnessed a series of wars. Despite the massive bloodletting during the American Civil War, conflicts in Asia and South America were far more devastating. This essay demonstrates that the middle decades of the nineteenth century witnessed ruinous conflicts as military technology exceeded battlefield tactics with many soldiers suffering deadly consequences.