Imperialism And Militarism

This leads to the conclusion that the European powers were ready for war in 1914. It is important to realize that since the European powers made alliances with each other, small arguments concerning one power might lead to a war involving all the powers. In the case of the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, this situation created a serious misunderstanding between Austria-Hungary and Serbia and as a result, the other nations in Europe involved in alliances with either 2 countries were obligated to support them. Alliances were originally created strictly for defensive purposes but by 1910, many of the alliances had changed their character like the Austro-German alliance. Germany promised to give military aid to Austria-Hungary to invade Serbia and on the other hand, Russia provided Serbia with military assistance. As alliances had become instruments of national aggression, the chances of war doubled. The probability of Austria-Hungary to declare war on Serbia due to the death of their heir increased because Austria-Hungary could rely on the support of Germany to help achieve its goal. In addition, this fragile interlock of alliances relied on the leaders of the European countries to act reasonably however, this was not the case in the situation of World War 1. The Kaiser of Germany felt his country was being denied the chance to unleash its full potential by Britain so the power hungry ruler was determined to

Austria-Hungary was not ready to let Serbia, under the protection of Russia, take over territories. Balkan was one of the most unstable areas at the time, due to its turbulent history and ethnic diversity. Along the increase of nationalism, arms race was creating growing tensions that eventually escalated into war. Germany was enlarging their military power, and France followed up with doubling their army. These actions could be taken as the preparation for what was about to happen.

To begin with, the pre-war alliance in Europe intensified the long-lasting tensions between countries. In 1879, Germany and Austria-Hungary made an alliance against Russia. In 1881, Austria Hungary allied with Serbia against Russia. The Triple Alliance reveals the alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. On the other hand, Russia, France, and Britain agreed to become the Triple Entente. (Doc 1) The alliance clearly divided the countries in Europe into two groups, each of which hated the others very much. (Doc 4) The

Jean-Jacques Becker and Gerd Krumeich state that the attack on the Archduke would provide Austria-Hungary’s “political and military leaders with a convenient reason for dealing conclusively with the Serbian threat.” It was Austria-Hungary whom sent an ultimatum that they knew Serbia would not agree to. They did this knowingly, counting on Serbia to reject the ultimatum. Austria-Hungary took Serbia’s one reservation to the ultimatum as a declaration of war. Additionally, they are the reason why Germany became involved in the conflict. Although Germany provided Austria-Hungary a blank check, it was Austria-Hungary who decided that they would begin a conflict with Serbia. Austria-Hungary is ultimately whom should be held responsible for initiating World War I.

Imperialism has been one of the most powerful forces in human history, serving to set the foundation of our modern world. While this has led to the formation of a global society where cultures, ideas, and innovations are spread across countries, imperialism has also left a history of exploitation, racism, and violence that is still affecting the world today. Imperial relationships are always imbalanced when it comes to power and influence; that is, one group (known as the metropole) maintains authority and control over another group (known as the periphery) with economic, political, and cultural dominance (Spiegel 2012). There are many reasons why one group chooses to dominate the other, such as expanding territory, extracting raw resources to fuel economic development, or to spread their beliefs (i.e. religion) (Spiegel 2012). In spite of these varied reasons, one of the main motivators for imperialism began with competition between empires.

Austria-Hungary attacking Serbia would start the domino effect of the countries going to war. Russia would have to join the war because Serbia and Russia have an agreement. Bringing Russia to war would then bring the United Kingdom and France to battle. With the Triple Entente going to war to protect Austria-Hungary the Triple alliance would have to join the war bringing Germany and Italy into the battle.(documents A and B) The Triple Entente and Triple Alliance were being pulled into the war because Austria-Hungary and Serbia’s dispute in 1914.

It is hard to believe that such a grand war broke out due to a quarrel between just two nations, and the “blank check” is a noteworthy factor in the escalation of this war. Its significance to history is due to the fact that war between two countries and Germany’s support to Austria-Hungary quickly erupted into one of the most memorable and major wars in the world. For this very reason is why I myself became interested in this topic. In school we have learned a lot about World War I and the formation of alliances, but Germany’s pledge to support Austria-Hungary in their decision to attack Serbia was something I never took into account as a possible cause to World War I. Therefore this topic caught my attention as I began to question what position the “blank check” had in triggering such a massive war and if war could have been avoided if it was never issued. I believe for this very reason it is worthy of investigation and would attract the attention of others since it was a key aspect in the timeline of the world’s history. During my research I will be looking at primary and secondary sources, with respect to any biases that may be present.

Throughout world history, various countries and kingdoms have strived towards achieving power, territory and control. Many rulers would compete against each other at the expense of their armies and civilian population. The largest empires started small, slowly enlarging by engulfing smaller, weaker empires using religious, ethnical, and political strategies. Simply using the aid of technological advancements in machinery and power. During the 16th century, there was a rapid growth of inventions around the world and developments in technology, which helped pave for the Industrial Revolution to occur. This Industrial Revolution was the primary catalyst amongst European nations to conquer others for more power and land. Lack of natural resources in Europe, led the Europeans to Africa in search of lumber, raw materials, and cheap labor. When Europeans went to Africa to look for lumber, raw materials, and cheap labor, they noticed how the natives had a completely different religion than theirs and the Europeans took the opportunity to start a land grab in the African continent to gain more power, territory, and convert the Africans to Christianity. Chinua Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart, displays the warfare and consequences of European Imperialism in the Niger River region by focusing Nigeria’s early experiences with colonialism, from the first contact with the

Imperialism is a major part of world history. It has created borders, wars, and nations with its ideas and actions but many people do not know what it was or how it shaped the modern world. It also brought a darker side of humanity that crushed many lives and cultures. So what is imperialism, why did it make people inhumane, and what is its impact on world history.

Imperialism, sometimes referred to as expansionism, or colonialism, has had many outcomes for the country being taken over, the nation invading, and how its effects still influence our world today. As Imperialism in short is a nation invading another for many reasons such as power, influence, goods, and many more! Everything it did, and worked for was to be in benefit, to their ruling nation. This reason could be and seems to be the main reason the Thirteen Colonies became resentful of Britain. As the colonies blamed Britain for everything that happened, and unfortunately everything that didn’t happen. They were unhappy with the life they were being forced to live in, and as a result revolted. Not everything was bad in these countries, as the more developed nation that take over brings about with it a wave of progression. The progression movement was amazing in a sense even although the mother nation did exploit these countries, the most damaging consequence of being an imperial colony, that is still affecting us today, is that it brought Racism with it.

As according to the document titled “Serbia,” Russia’s actions made it seem as though it would support Serbia, which now felt more confident about going up against Austria-Hungary. The purpose of this document was to explain the extent of Serbia’s role in beginning the war, and to explain how, though Serbia might be blamed for the immediate thought of war, it cannot for the actual declaration of war. The assassination of an Austrian archduke by Serbian nationalists (in Austria-Hungary) is what prompted a thought of war, but it was the assurance given by Russia that gave Serbia courage to challenge Austria-Hungary, thereby showing how Serbia is not to blame in the long-run. In addition, Russia’s asking of French support and later gaining it made Russia confident of an “easy” win against Austria-Hungary, as France’s military was advanced and powerful, as said in the document titled “France.” This made Russia less afraid of war, and made it take measures that did not necessarily prevent war.

Imperialism became an issue when new territories were being taken under the American flag, with no anticipation that they would ever be accepted into statehood. Imperialists responded by insisting that the federal government had the right to acquire new territory by purchase, treaty, or war. To them, it was Congress’s decision as to how colonies would be governed. The Supreme Court later created a doctrine of incorporation, which stated that the United States first had to incorporate the territory in question in order for the Constitution to be applicable (Ries and Weber 7). Therefore, none of the newly acquired territories met this requirement. The people of the newly acquired territories were not entitled to the same rights and guarantees

As Russia supported Serbia, an Austro-Hungarian declaration of war was delayed until its leaders received assurances from German leader Kaiser Wilhelm that Germany would support their cause in the event of a Russian intervention–which would likely involve Russia’s ally, France, and possibly Britain as well. On the same day as the assassination, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, and the tenuous peace between Europe’s great powers collapsed. Within a week, Russia, Belgium, France, Great Britain and Serbia had lined up against Austria-Hungary and Germany, and World War I had

Additional evidence to suggest Germany’s liability for war was the “Dual Alliance” between Germany and Austria Hungary, also known as the blank cheque. John Moses believes that “the two allies persisted during the entire war” presenting how the solid alliance Germany made with Austria Hungary of how she would give unconditional support in any war displays how Germany were taking war preparations by sustaining alliances and extra support. Thus, creating “international tension” and pushing Europe towards a war, displaying Germany’s tactics of foreign policy. This links to Fischer’s thesis, where he concluded that Germany had hoped the ‘Blank Cheque’ would result in war. He also states the Government wanted to be distracted from innerpolitik which is why they was keen for war in order to gain nationalism and patriotism within their country, relating to the theory of Primat der Innerpolitik.

It was imperative for Austria-Hungary to have Germany backing them since Russia would likely defend Serbia. Despite the ridiculous ultimatum given to them, Serbia agreed to nine of the ten stipulations. Serbia was making an effort to avoid war. Austria-Hungary on the other hand declared war half an hour after the Serbian government didn’t agree to all the stipulations. Austria-Hungary was the first to declare war.