James Baquet

World War II was truly global in scope. World War I, however, was largely (though not entirely) confined to Europe.

Aside from that quibble, it was hardly the first conflict to involve large numbers of countries. The Seven Years War (1756-1763) involved not only virtually all of the great European powers of the day, but, because of those nations’ colonial interests, there was action as far away as North America, the Caribbean, India and the Philippines.

However, the conflict that many believe should have been called the first truly “world war” is the series of events called the Napoleonic Wars after their instigator.

In the end, France and her client states battled against such European powers as the United Kingdom, Hungary, the United Netherlands and others, as well as many of those same client states due to switching sides: Austria, Russia, Spain, the Ottoman Empire, Persia, and others. Fighting extended into the territories of the U.S., Latin America, Egypt and Syria as extensions of British, Spanish and Ottoman interests.

One such action was the British invasions of the Rio de la Plata, when — with Spain allied at that time with France — British troops attempted unsuccessfully to take territories in what is now Argentina and Uruguay.

The attempts can be divided into two phases. The first was the occupation of Buenos Aires (now capital and largest city of Argentina) by the British army in 1806 for 46 days. (British banners used by the army in that action are still held in a convent in Buenos Aires.)

In preparation for an anticipated second invasion, the Spanish elite armed the local people, though fearing that this might enable rebellion later on (which, it turns out, it did). A second British attack did occur, in 1807. Several days of street fighting in Buenos Aires ended in a British defeat. An assault on Montevideo (now capital and largest city of Uruguay, and only about 200 kilometers from Buenos Aires) was more successful, leading to several months of British occupation, ending only with a general British withdrawal from the area.

Vocabulary:

Which word above means:

1. minor criticism

2. stages, steps

3. expected

4. flags, especially in military use

5. one who started something

6. extent, coverage

7. countries relying on a more powerful country for political, economic, or military needs

8. limited, restricted

9. including the whole world

10. place where Christian nuns live