Media’s a relatively recent tool. If you mean proper, national-scale wars, very few were set in motion by regular people. Before the era of the nation-state, most wars were over dynastic or feudal disputes, or else naked imperialism. Wars set in motion by regular people would’ve been more like clan feuds and the like, which, while often vicious, are generally not large enough to be historically noteworthy. Some religious rebellions and the like would’ve been started primarily by ordinary people, like the Hussite Wars. Mass migrations and border feuds that steadily become larger in scale would count too, probably.
It started over a dispute about a poor American farmer shooting a rich British farmers pig who escaped its pen and was eating all the poor farmers crops. Also despite being a war it was mainly posturing by both sides, I don’t think either side actually ended up shooting at each other. Instead they just kept making ramparts and barricades all over the place and then stared at each other across from them.
I wonder how many wars have been caused by politicians and the media vs. how many were genuinely started bottom up by regular people.
The ones started by regular people were typically against the ruling class.
Media’s a relatively recent tool. If you mean proper, national-scale wars, very few were set in motion by regular people. Before the era of the nation-state, most wars were over dynastic or feudal disputes, or else naked imperialism. Wars set in motion by regular people would’ve been more like clan feuds and the like, which, while often vicious, are generally not large enough to be historically noteworthy. Some religious rebellions and the like would’ve been started primarily by ordinary people, like the Hussite Wars. Mass migrations and border feuds that steadily become larger in scale would count too, probably.
Well 1 was definitely the “pig war” that happened in the late 1850s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pig_War_(1859)
It started over a dispute about a poor American farmer shooting a rich British farmers pig who escaped its pen and was eating all the poor farmers crops. Also despite being a war it was mainly posturing by both sides, I don’t think either side actually ended up shooting at each other. Instead they just kept making ramparts and barricades all over the place and then stared at each other across from them.
Politicians are often born as regular people. Hitler wasn’t born in the ruling class.
Football war of 1969 was quite organic as was balkan wars (started from serb inserting a bottle up his bum (organically))