We noticed a question on Autocat earlier this week concerning the correct number for the conflict in Darfur. The Darfur Conflict, which started in February of 2003, is a military conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan. Many works have been written about the conflict, e.g., Darfur's Sorrow: A History of Destruction and Genocide by M. W. Daly, War in Darfur and the Search for Peace by Alexander De Waal, and The Darfur Crisis by William R. Jeffries. These titles have the DDC number 962.4043 History of Sudan since 1985.
Why is the conflict classed in 962.4043 instead of the number for the same period in the history of Darfur itself, 962.7043 History of the Darfur region since 1985 (built with 962.7 History of Darfur region of Sudan plus 043 from 962.4043, following instructions at 962.701-962.704)? The reason why the conflict is classed with the history of the Sudan and not with the history of the Darfur region is that the war or conflict fought in a limited portion of a country is classed with the history of the country as a whole. This instruction is given in the following paragraphs from the Wars section of the 930-990 History of ancient world; of specific continents, countries, localities; of extraterrestrial worlds Manual entry (the pertinent sentences are underlined). This section was the subject of the November 2007 New and Changed Entries (in Word and PDF formats).
If most of a war’s fighting took place in one region or country, use the number for the history of the region or country. For example, class the War of the Austrian Succession with the history of Europe in 940.2526; class the Vietnam War with the history of Vietnam in 959.7043. Use the number for the history of the country as a whole, even when the war was fought within a limited portion of a country. For example, class the Second Seminole War, which was fought against the Seminole Indians in Florida, with the history of the United States in 973.57 (not with the history of Florida in 975.904).
For an ongoing war, use the number for the history of the region or country in which most of the fighting has occurred. For example, when World War II was introduced in Edition 14, most of the fighting had been in Europe; thus, World War II was classed with the history of Europe in 940.53 (not with world history in 909.824). If there is no one region or country in which most of the fighting has occurred, use the number for the history of the region or country where the war began.
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