Random Longest Wars In History (19 items)

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  (#4) Arauco Wars (Approx. 290 Years)

  A series of irregular conflicts, the Arauco Wars began in 1536 when the Spanish tried to colonize the Mapuche tribe in what’s now Chile. Spain met a strong army in the course of exploring the Strait of Magellan, and though outnumbered, they took out thousands of Mapuches with their superior firepower and forced them to retreat.

  Despite multiple attempts to break the tribe, the Mapuche remained independent from Spanish rule, thanks in part to the natural boundary of the Biobío River. Battles were common during the 300 years of Spanish presence, until 1609, when a maintenance treaty was signed between the Spanish-appointed governor of Chile and the Mapuche chiefs. Spain was later expelled from Chile in the War of Chilean Independence, beginning in 1810, and Mapuche tribesmen fought on both sides of the conflict.

  Peace was established on January 7, 1825.
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  (#1) Punic Wars

  Three brutal wars between Rome and Carthage between 264 BC and 146 BC ended with Carthage destroyed and conquered, and the city itself sacked and burned. That would seem to be the end of it, except for the fact that due to the destroying, sacking, and burning, Carthage never actually signed a peace treaty that ended the war with Rome.

  This wasn’t rectified until 1985, when the mayor of Rome and the mayor of modern Carthage (now a suburb of Tunis) signed a ceremonial peace treaty as a sign the past had been put to bed.

  While it makes for a good story, most historical scholars don’t accept this diplomatic irregularity, and have the Punic Wars lasting about 45 years - still an extremely long time for two nations to be slaying each other.
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  (#2) Taiwan Vs. The Netherlands (359 Years)

  The Dutch arrived on Taiwan in 1623, and within a year tried to Christianize the native tribes. Some converted willingly, but others resisted. The Dutch response was decidedly un-Christian: They burned their villages. In 1651, the Taromak tribe took up arms against their oppressors and the Dutch declared war. The Dutch were defeated and expelled from the island in 1662 by a Ming Dynasty loyalist named Koxinga, but no official peace was ever declared.

  In 2010, Dutch diplomat Menno Goedhart sought out the tribe’s current leader for an official end to the conflict. The peace process was simple: Goedhart went to the village’s spirit hut and asked for forgiveness and understanding from the tribe’s ancestors. Thus ended one of the longest declared wars in history.
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  (#11) North Korea vs. South Korea (62 Years And Counting)

  The state of war that’s existed between the two Koreas since the 1950s might have lessed in intensity after the end of the Korean War in 1953, but it’s never officially ended. North and South have clashed repeatedly in the last six decades, and the North has announced on six different occasions that it wouldn’t abide by the terms of the armistice that both nations signed, though little happened in the wake of these declarations.

  Both sides keep substantial military forces in the Demilitarized Zone, and there have been dozens of violent incursions, incidents, and shootouts between North Korean forces and South Korean and UN troops. The risk of the two Koreas going back to a full-scale war is still high.
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  (#6) Huéscar Vs. Denmark (172 Years)

  In 1809, the Spanish municipality of Huéscar declared war on Denmark, which was itself at war with Napoleonic France. Spanish troops had been cut off in French-occupied Denmark during the war against France, and the Danish were forcing them to swear loyalty oaths to Napoleon’s brother. Despite the patriotic outburst, war fever apparently wasn’t all that contagious, as the people promptly forgot about it and went on with their lives.

  Long a local legend, it wasn’t until 1981 that a Spanish historian discovered the original declaration of war. A ceremony was arranged and on November 11 of that year the mayor of Huéscar and the Ambassador of Denmark officially ended their bloodless, forgotten war.
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  (#12) WWII Allies Vs. Germany (45 Years)

  While Nazi Germany signed the Instrument of Surrender and ended their war with the Western Allies in 1945, Germany itself was divided between the victorious powers. So no single state existed that had authority to sign a final peace treaty, and the war technically continued well into the Cold War. The US needed a legal pretext to keep troops in West Germany, and only ended its state of war with Germany in 1951.

  Though the political landscape had completely changed, it wasn’t until German reunification in 1990 that the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany could be signed. 

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