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How Did Imperialism Cause Ww1

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In the context of 1814-1914 nationalism is seen a prevailing factor for the cause of World War I. However in this essay I will be questioning how important nationalism really is and how imperialism may intersect with nationalism as a factor of generating World War I. Nationalism is a controversial topic with regards to WW1, with many different interpretations and definitions. First to understand nationalism you have to understand what a nation is, the Oxford dictionary describes a nation as “A community of people of mainly common descent, history, language. etc., forming a state or inhabiting a territory.” One historian, German historian Peter Alter defines Nationalism as "both an ideology and a political movement which holds the nation and …show more content…

The Black Hand was nationalistic organisation with the aim of uniting all South Slavic territories.
Was it the instinct to protect their national sovereignty and identity that caused resistance to negotiation and produced hostile threats? In order to better understand the effects of nationalism we also need to look at other factors over the 100 year period 1814-1914 I will looking at an examining other factors such as alliances, religions and personalities. Such as how did Bismarck’s system of alliances contribute to the outbreak of the war and how greatly did his alliances contribute. Also how did personalities factor in to the outbreak to World War …show more content…

For the major European powers in the 19th century imperialism in the 19th century was seen as ‘expand or decline’ which meant to not have colonies a country would have been seen as weak or inferior in comparison to those who did. For example the Scramble for Africa, where countries were racing to colonise nations for their resources, raw materials and for a sense of superiority. The scramble for Africa created rivalries. For example when French trading companies and warships along the coastline of the Niger delta began to grow in the 1870-80s, Britain set up a protectorate over areas where Britain had influence. One other example of how imperial interests caused conflicts which in turn arguably led to the First World War is the Moroccan crisis. Germany wanted ‘a place in the sun’. The phrase is originates from when German Foreign Secretary Bernhard von Bülow stated, "in one word: We wish to throw no one into the shade, but we demand our own place in the sun.". ‘A place in the sun’ was to change Germany into a world power through aggressive diplomacy, overseas colonies, and a large navy. “Under Wilhelm II’s erratic leadership and in pursuit of the goal of becoming a Weltmacht (world power), the powerful new Germany at the centre of Europe soon began to challenge its neighbours, who were quick to react with the

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