Imperialism In Ww1

World War I was a tragic episode in European history. As with most wars, there were some causes that led to this event. A few of these causes were militarism, alliances, and imperialism. The first spark of the war was on June 28, 1914 when the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated by a Serbian nationalist group called the Black Hand. The Austrian leaders demanded an apology from Serbia, they got upset and Russia said they would help Serbia. With no apology and the threat of Russia, on June 28 Austria-Hungary declared war on them; Russia in return declared war on Austria-Hungary. Germany declared war on Russia, France on both Germany and Austria-Hungary. Finally Britain had joined France and Russia, then all of Europe was at war.

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

During the start of the 20th century, Europe was in a good place. It controlled many empires and colonies, and technology was advancing at a rapid pace after the Industrial Revolution (1840-1870). However this peace did not last; 1914 started a brutal four year war known as WWI. The immediate cause of this war is known to be the assassination of the Archduke of Austria, Franz Ferdinand, in June of 1914. However, there are many more elementary causes of this complicated war. Some of the main underlying causes of WWI was the strong militarism and imperialism felt in the European countries, and the alliances put in place to uphold these powerful militaries and colonies.

As advancements constructed and alliances formed, imperialism, nationalism, and militarism was able to involve numerous powers of the world. Not only making World War 1 so profound in history for decades to come, but leaving a lasting effect on all generations. Soon after learning about the assassination of the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914 by a Serbian terrorist group known as the Black Hand a strong sense of nationalism stormed in through many countries. Document 6 stated, “This war is determined by our obligation to our traditions and the world of culture.”

Imperialism is when a country of rich power overtakes a debilitated government. In the late 1800’s through the early 1900’s. Imperialism started towards the end of the Industrial Revolution because of the lack of natural materials and resources in their own territory. During the period of imperialism, many European countries created vast empires from overthrowing governments in Africa and the Middle East. France, Great Britain, Germany, Spain, Italy, and Portugal were the main countries involved in overtaking territory. An effect from the age of Imperialism was the affection of World War I. Besides the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria/Hungary in 1914 was Imperialism, Imperialism caused conflict over territory. Soon Imperialism was so out of control that the countries were going to war over who they were going to overthrow. Imperialism also had an effect on the warfare during World War 1 because the countries used their claimed land as prime military bases during the war.

Imperialism was one of the four contributing factors to the cause of World War One, along with secret alliances, militarism, and nationalism.  It is the most important cause of WW1, because it created a build-up of tension in Europe and outside of Europe, and through imperialism, the three other causes were able to affect the beginnings of the war. Imperialism is defined as the governing of one people by another country, which was a recurring dilemma prior to WW1 due to the industrialist movement. Although not all events that fall into the imperialistic category were about controlling another country, they contributed to the war, and imperialistic events were the foundation of the cause of WW1.

Before the early twentieth century, the countries of Europe led vast empires that ruled the world both economically and politically. However, world dominance was soon ended by war, the great war to be exact. World War 1 devastated Europe for years yet began swiftly, with the country of Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia. Although various aggressions such as Archduke Ferdinand’s assassination are thought to be the reasons for World War 1, it was the alliance systems, militarism, and imperialism that proved to be the underlying cause of the war.

In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s Europe was becoming a tinder box for a possible great war. Every country was extremely determined on spreading their empires. Additionally they began to form alliances, France with England and Germany with Austria-Hungry. Then on June 28th 1914 a Bosnian-Serb nationalist assassinated the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife practically igniting Europe and the world into a massive war. This assassination was viewed as an act of war and Russia came in to assist their ally Serbia. Germany naturally had to declare war on Russia to help Austria-Hungry. France and England then joined in to assist Russia.

In the 1900’s Europe believed that they had the most power over the world hands down. By the end of the four year war in 1918 they were sadly mistaken, losing roughly 10 million soldiers and more than 20 million injured, Europe was rethinking their claims. This war was sparked from the assassination of the Archduke Francis Ferdinand. The war lasted four years long between 1814 and 1918. European countries were in a dilemma they couldn't get out of.

During the 19th century in 1880, King Leopold of Belgium began the process of European imperialism in Africa. Leopold had acquired 900,000 square miles of Africa, he called this Congo Free State. He began to take out ivory and rubber in order to make money. All while Leopold was exporting those goods, other European leaders held a conference to divide up Africa in a practicable and tranquil manner. What was the main driving force behind the European imperialism in Africa?

Only the strongest, the imperialist powers will rule the world. As nationalism grows, the citizens of the European nations show pride and love toward their country, along with this developed Social Darwinism, where the Europeans viewed themselves as more superior human beings, all this led to New Imperialism during the early 1900s. In addition, with the new advancement in technology the European decided to change the world for the better good. According to Document 1, colonies are a valuable source of money to the European nations for many reasons. Despite being a powerful nation, the lack of raw material was a problem, thus the colonies provided the materials. The raw materials weren’t the sole reason to colonize a weak nation, the nation was overpopulated, thus

World War One was many years in the making with separate incidences occurring between the empires that ultimately lead up to war beginning. With many powerful empires on edge and wanting to be the most powerful, they did whatever they could to make this happen. The First World War was not sparked by one event or motive, but in turn was started due to many major factors. The war’s blame can be placed on all of the countries involved, rather than solely Germany. These factors from World War One were the product of each empire and their long-term needs such as nationalism, imperialism, militarism and the alliances. The short-term event that was the final push to start the war was the assassination of Franz Ferdinand.

While there is never just a single event that has led to the start of a world war, or any other serious war, there is often one thing that triggers long lived tensions and thus war ensues. Such was the case in WWI with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. There were many tensions that existed prior to his assassination, but it was his assassination which triggered the war, his assassination that served as an excuse, and perhaps the last straw, so to speak, which led to the First World War. The following paper examines the assassination of Franz Ferdinand and its relationship to the start of WWI.

The first world war was not the result of one assassination, but rather it was a mixture of long term causes and more immediate strategic decisions. In the nineteenth century in Europe, the long term factors to world war one had been building, Imperialism and Industrialisation were radically changing the balance of power internationally and political stability domestically. The rise of radical nationalism created influential groups such as the Black Hand and the Pan-Germans and the decline of the Habsburg, Hohenzollern, Romanov and Ottoman empires left power vacuums and created challenges to the traditional order. Germany created an arms race, by expanding its navy which forced itself into a direct challenge to the British. Alliances tied countries together, but also created deep rifts and the secretive diplomatic dealings and incidents like the Moroccan crisis, the Balkans war and the July crisis heightened tensions. All of these factors interwove together, precipitating the inevitable action from Germany, to declare war.

Prior to World War One Europe had been the central world power. They looked at themselves as being above all other, this including countries and the people within those countries. In the first part of Michael Adas essay he explains the feelings and ideas that Europe had towards other countries and the peoples who lived within them. Not only does he touch on this subject, but also how