Britannica Student Encyclopedia - 2010

ManyWappinger died of disease.

In the early 1640s theWappinger and

other nearby Indians went to war against

the Dutch. They were trying to protect

their land from Dutch settlers. The Indians

lost the war in 1645.

Most of the survivingWappinger joined

the Nanticoke tribe in the middle of the

1700s. TheseWappinger and Nanticoke

later merged with other tribes, including

the Delaware (Lenni Lenape) and the

Mohican. By the 1800s theWappinger

were no longer a separate people.

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Delaware • Mohican • Native Americans

War

When countries or other large groups of

people use weapons to fight each other,

the fight is called a war. Throughout

history groups of people have used war

as a way of settling differences.

Types ofWar

There are two main kinds of war:

international and intranational.

Wappinger

chiefs were

called

sachems. Both

men and

women could

become

sachems.

8 Wappinger BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

 

International wars are fought between

countries or groups of countries. The

Iran-Iraq War (1980–90) was an

international war between two

countries, Iran and Iraq. World War I

(1914–18) and World War II (1939–

45) were international wars fought

between groups of countries.

Intranational wars are fought between

groups within a country. Intranational

wars are also known as civil wars, rebellions,

or revolutions. Civil wars are wars

between two groups of citizens of the

same country. The American CivilWar

(1861–65) started when the Southern

states seceded, or separated, from the

United States. The Northern states

fought to keep this from happening. A

rebellion is when citizens rise up against

their government and demand change.

It may or may not be successful. Revolutions

are like rebellions, but in a revolution

a group succeeds in overthrowing

the existing government. That group

usually establishes a new government.

Causes ofWar

Countries and other groups of people go

to war with one another for a number of

reasons. A country may feel that it does

not have enough land or resources. It

then may try to take these things from a

neighboring country by force. Sometimes

groups fight wars simply because

one group wants to show it is more

powerful than another. Civil wars can

start when a group within a country

wants more power or money. A group

also may fight to gain religious freedom.

History

EarlyWars

In the earliest wars people fought with

simple weapons—for example, wooden

clubs, rocks, spears, and bows and

arrows. After people learned how to use

metals, they fought with swords and

Warriors in ancient times fought on foot, on horseback, on war elephants, and on wheeled

vehicles. They fought with bows and arrows, spears, and other weapons. They protected

their bodies with shields and armor.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA War 9

 

other sharp weapons. They also made

better bows and arrows.

For many centuries people fought on

foot. About 4,000 years ago armies

began to use horses to pull carts called

chariots. Armed fighters later began to

ride horses into battle.

European fighters first used gunpowder

in the 1300s. They used it to blast castle

walls and to shoot arrowlike missiles

from tubes. Europeans invented the big

guns called artillery, including cannons,

during this time. In the mid-1400s

European inventors made the first rifles

and handguns. For the first time soldiers

on foot could carry guns.

ModernWar

A huge change in war happened in the

1800s, during the Industrial

Revolution. (The Industrial Revolution

was a time when people invented new

ways to make goods quickly and

cheaply.) Large numbers of guns

became available for armies. Guns also

became more powerful and accurate.

The first machine guns appeared in the

late 1800s.

Other inventions allowed people to

fight much larger wars. Steam engines

allowed warships to move around

without depending on wind. Telegraphs

allowed fast communication between

troops. Railroads moved troops and

supplies farther and faster. All these

new developments made war much

more destructive.

The next major advance in war came

with the use of airplanes duringWorld

War I. Pilots could now drop bombs

from the air. Armies also used tanks,

submarines, and chemical weapons

(weapons that released poisonous gas)

during this war.

DuringWorldWar II tanks and many

other kinds of weapons improved. But

the biggest change of all was the development

of the atomic bomb, the first

nuclear weapon. The United States

dropped two atomic bombs on Japanese

cities duringWorldWar II. These

bombs killed more than 100,000 people

instantly.

AfterWorldWar II a group of countries

formed the United Nations. This organization

tries to keep countries from going

to war. Many countries also agreed to

some new rules of war. These rules are

included in a set of agreements called

the Geneva Conventions. One of the

rules is that warring countries should try

Shallow water does not stop a modern tank.

A tank is an armored vehicle that runs on

crawler tracks and carries a powerful gun.

The first tanks were used in World War I

(1914–18).

10 War BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

 

not to harm civilians (people not in the

military).

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