The Third World War

Originally published on April 29, 2020 (Episode 155)

Introduction

Winston Churchill argued that the Seven Years’ War (what Americans think of as the French and Indian War) were the “First World War” since its battles took place from Germany to western Pennsylvania to the Philippines. If that title is accepted, then the “War of the American Revolution” was the Second World War, stretching as it did from the thirteen British American colonies to Europe to India–and ultimately having greater ideological consequences than the previous war.

Thus the Napoleonic Wars (which comprise both the wars of the 1790s, as well as those conducted by Napoleon Bonaparte) were the Third World War. But it led to ad cataclysm that far surpassed any previous conflict. France struggled for dominance not only in Europe but also in the Americas, West and South Africa, in the Ottoman Empire, Iran, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Mediterranean Sea, and the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. My guest Alexander Mikaberidze argues that Napoleonic Wars were the most consequential events between the Protestant Reformation and the Great War of 1914–1918.

And, like the Reformation and the Great War, the Napoleonic Wars had effects which continue into our own time.

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About the Guest

Alexander Mikaberidze is Professor of History and Ruth Herring Noel Endowed Chair at Louisiana State University in Shreveport. He holds a degree in international law from Tbilisi State University (Republic of Georgia, 1999) and a Ph.D. in history from Florida State University (2003). He has been acclaimed as one of the “great Napoleonic scholars of today.” The Napoleonic Wars: A Global History (Oxford University Press, 2020), has already been described as a “masterpiece.” This is his second appearance on Historically Thinking; our previous conversation, held five years ago on this topic, remains one of the most popular episodes of the podcast.

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For Further Investigation

• Alexander Mikaberidze, The Napoleonic Wars: A Global History (Oxford University Press, 2020)

• Alexander Mikaberidze, The Burning of Moscow: Napoleon’s Trial by Fire (University Press of Kansas, 2014)

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Listen & Discuss

What stands out to you in this episode? And what makes a world war a world war? Share your thoughts in the comments below — and consider forwarding this post to a friend who would enjoy the conversation

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