[neverdem]

Even *that* is actually incorrect (off by one). The "real" First World War occurred approximately 100 years before the acknowledged First World War did. The first "world war" in man's history was the Napoleonic Wars (1805-1815), as campaigns were actually fought globally, and societies were totally reshaped in both the fightuing itself, and the aftermath, around the globe...

A middle phase began with the declaration of war between France and Britain, and touched off the first true world war (Seven Years’ War). The North American conflict might well have remained a localized affair, but a realignment of European alliances ignited new rivalries to add to the simmering feud between Britain and France.

[infowarrior]

While it could be claimed that The Seven Years' War was the first "world war" with some plausibility, the fact that the Napoleonic Wars did far more to reshape the world tends to push me to grant the title to that conflict. In fact, it would not be a stretch to combine the two into one larger conflict, with an interregnum of uneasy peace and "cold war" between the major belligerents between the two metacampaigns...

the infowarrior