In this chapter, I deal with the historical expansion of material scope of application of the laws of armed conflict. I argue that the so called civilized States shaped the applicability criteria of the law as it suited to their imperialist agendas. I try to emphasize that the references of humanitarian considerations in the texts and during the negotiations were aesthetic in nature. For this purpose, I examine in detail the preparatory works as well as the negotiating history of the 1949 Geneva Conventions and the 1977 Additional Protocols, with special reference to civil wars and anti-colonial wars. I closely analyze the submissions made by the delegates of the Western countries as well as the post-colonial countries. This analysis seeks to critically explain the role of powerful countries, the Third World countries and the ICRC in drawing the boundaries of the laws of armed conflict.