Was the seven years war technically the first real world war? I read somewhere that Churchill argued this historical point, he argued that because the seven years war had conflict and belligerents on every continent it was technically the world's first world war, therefore meaning that the great war of 1914-18 (abiding by the same factors) was actually the worlds second world war; rather than first.
As well as this what are the criteria for a world war? and are there any more debates over potential non-named / credited world wars?
Keep in mind that there is no international organization tasked with naming wars. At the end of the day, a single conflict may be referred to by a number of different names across different areas, languages, and cultures.
The Seven Years war did have conflicts around the globe, though the same could be said of the War of Spanish Succession a half century earlier.
Ernst Haeckel was the first person to refer to The Great War as "The First World War," but its not like that made anything official.
A rose by any other name sorta thing...
Why do people keep removing there comments? it says 9 but I see none.