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Autrefois, il y avait souvent des guerres.

Autrefois, il y avait souvent des guerres.
In the past, there were often wars.
From Lesson 132:Past impersonal verbs (il y avait, il fallait)·French

Questions & Answers about Autrefois, il y avait souvent des guerres.

Why is il y avait singular when des guerres (wars) is plural?
Because il y avait is an impersonal expression. The il doesn't refer to the wars; it just acts as a grammatical placeholder, much like the word 'it' in 'it is raining'. Whether you are talking about one thing or many things, the expression always stays singular: il y a in the present, and il y avait in the past.
Why do we use the imparfait (il y avait) here instead of the passé composé?
The imparfait is used for setting a scene and describing how things 'used to be' over an unspecified period of time. The words autrefois (in the past/formerly) and souvent (often) are strong hints that we are talking about ongoing past situations or habits, which is exactly what the imparfait is for!
Is autrefois the only way to say 'in the past'?
It is not the only way, but it is one of the most natural! You could also say dans le passé, but autrefois (which literally means 'other time') is heavily used by French speakers to mean 'formerly', 'in the old days', or 'back in the day'.
Why does it use des guerres instead of les guerres?
When using il y a or il y avait to state that things exist, you generally use the indefinite article un, une, or des (which implies 'some' wars). Saying il y avait les guerres would mean 'there were the wars', pointing to very specific, previously mentioned conflicts rather than wars as a general concept.

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