WORLD WAR I Foreign policy: Even before WW1 began, years of tension had built up a rivalry between the great powers of Europe, triggered by alliances, power plays, weapons races and security. Furthermore, the Balkans was a power-vacuum, formally under the control of a fast-deteriorating Ottoman Empire. Imperialist expansionism on the part of Austria-Hungary and the German Reich was also giving rise to tensions. The increased efforts of Germany to have a colonial empire in Africa was another factor that led to WW1. During the 19th century, Britain, France and Germany had been in competition with each other, trying to build colonies in the Americas, Africa and Asia. Russia, Japan and the United States were doing the same in the Asian …show more content…
This led to a rejection of a national leadership agreement on spheres of influence and arms limitation. The so-called 'politics of the free hand” is also considered one of the causes for WW1. This policy limited foreign policy, rather than helping to expand the action. Domestic policy: As the world entered the 20th century, an arms race had begun. By 1914, Germany had the greatest increase in military buildup. Great Britain and Germany both greatly increased their navies in this time period. Further, in Germany and Russia particularly, the military establishment began to have a greater influence on public policy. This increase in militarism helped push the countries involved to war. The nationalist power-politics in Germany were promoted heavily. There were strong advocates for imperialism who also pushed for advancing Germany's weapon's technology and strong army. The internal problems of Russia and Austria-Hungary (in part caused by long-overdue reforms) can also be regarded as a cause of WW1. All these countries had a distinct streak of thinking only in terms of the nation-state. Political economy: From an economic standpoint, the desire to create and maintain lucrative markets abroad can be seen as one of the major causes of WW1, since an industrial capitalist society and economy require a flow of cheap goods. The dynamic arms race also favored this trade. For Australia and the United States, arms exports proved to be a lucrative business. Socio-political: In
These are all reasons why Imperialism was the main cause of World War I. When Austria-Hungary was expanding its empire over the Balkans, it caused a lot of hardship from Serbia to Austria, which caused the assassination of Austria-Hungary’s leader, Archduke Franz Ferdinand. In Document F, it states that “At the same time, he promoted Pan-Slav nationalism–a vision that the Slavic peoples would one day be united under one nation.” It also states that
World War 1 was triggered through the German nation wanting to expand their territory. The German nation was in direct competition with France and Britain who held larger areas of land and would later become Germany’s direct enemy. Conflict and tension between Austria, Hungry and an attack on Serbia with continued fighting in the Balkans was also a contributing factor to World War. 1. Politically WW1 lead to many new geographical changes on the globe countries gained and lost territories, socially there were 10 million soldiers dead, 20 million wounded and 40 million killed by Spanish influenza.
Britain, France, Germany and other nations competed for colonial gains in Africa. Britain and Germany competed industrially. Then, Germany industrialized quickly and the British were threatened by this. This caused them to hate Germany, then France and Britain eventually forms an alliance and goes at it with Germany. Document 4 states, “The allied and associated governments affirm and Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage”. The final cause of WW1 was the assassination of Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary which started the war immediately. After the assassination the Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. once Russia heard that Serbia was at war, they also had to go to war which leads Germany declaring war on Serbia. Therefore, the era of the began expansion of the war included all those countries who were defending they alliances. Document 7 states, “The two armed camps alarmed each other, and each grew heavy with multiplied incidents, which spread East with the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, where Russia and Austria were advancing contradictory claims…” This quote shows how the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand started WW1 immediately and kept
There were many issues that led up to this disastrous yet historical event, imperialism was not one. Alliances, militarism, and nationalism were the three most significant causes of World War 1. To start off, militarism had a notable influence on World War 1. As the chart illustrates, there was a significant growth in numbers of the armaments grew in both the army and navy. Finally, nationalism was one of the most critical causes of world war 1.
One underlying cause of World War 1 was the alliance systems. There were two major alliances. The triple entente and the triple alliance (Document A). The triple entente consisted of Russia, United Kingdom, and France. The triple alliance consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and italy. Alliances were quick to support their allies (Document B). Each country had a different point of view of who started the war. So this created a chain reaction (Document B). Those are a few ways alliance systems caused World War 1.
There were many causes that contributed to World War I like: Imperialism, Militarism, and Alliances. Europeans thought they could make the world their oyster and take over any areas they pleased. Most countries did not appreciate their land being taken from them. For example, Serbia wanted independence from their mother country Austria-Hungary, so a nationalist group called the Black Hand, decided to assassinate the Archduke. If Serbia didn’t assassinate the Archduke of Austria-Hungary the war probably wouldn't have happened at all. Europe’s imperialism is what caused the Great War that went for four long years from 1914 to 1918 and had over 30,000,000 million casualties. The main cause of World War I was Imperialism which caused Alliances and
Imperialism being one of the underlying causes for world war 1 was one of the ways that made it world wide. Imperialism highlighted the benefits the alliances got from their own colonies when it came to the amount
The first cause of World War One were alliances, the actual agreement between two nations; meaning work together. To start off, the United Kingdom, Russia, and France were apart of the Allies alliance. Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire were members of the Central Powers alliance. Some countries chose to
Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, and Nationalism played a huge part in the led up to World War 1. With the threat of war hanging over the heads of many countries, the Arms Race began. Germany, France, and Russia started to recruit a large portion of their male population. This gave the men a taste of war and the military experience. The Arms Race caused every European state have access to a huge army, but these armies ere ruining their economics. The citizens knew that they needed to rid of themselves of these armies before they went into economic ruin, but before this could happen they were propelled into war. Germany created a large, modern navy that threatened Britain. At the time of this threat, Germany was trying to secure Britain
The three most important underlying cause of World War 1 are militarism, imperialism, and alliance. One of the most important underlying cause of WW1 is militarism. Countries would invest in their army and navy to defend themselves and to be prepared to attack during war. European countries spent millions on their armaments.
Europeans struggled to cooperate to govern these two weak, vulnerable countries. This created tension throughout Europe. World War one was pushed by the desire for greater empires and increasing competition. Imperialism is one of the prime causes that lead to World War one.
Even though it is believed that World War I was initialized by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, others believe that there were a number of issues that played into the start of the war. There are said to be four areas that played into the cause of World War I, including the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the other three are imperialism, militarism, and nationalism. In this paper, we will discuss all of these areas to see how they played a part. We will also discuss what events drew the United States into World War I.
World War I was the result of leaders' aggression towards other countries which was supported by the rising nationalism of the European nations. Economic and imperial competition and fear of war prompted military alliances and an arms race, which further escalated the tension contributing to the outbreak of war. One cause of the World War was militarism, which is a policy in which military preparedness is of primary significance to a situation. Another cause of the World War was nationalism. Nationalism is the pride and devotion form one towards his/her country. It played a great part in the causes of World War 1 because citizens wanted to stand up for their country, and fight for them. The third
There were three very important causes of World War One; Nationalism, Militarism, and Imperialism ( Davidson, Castillo, Stoff, page 570). For years, these three factor has brought tension to European nations. Then, in June of 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir t the throne of
All of these factors where established in many of Europe’s “Great Powers” which consisted of Great Britain, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia. The main cause focused on what I stated above, in the previous sentences. The causes of World War 1 include a growing sense of militarism, which was accompanied by arms race, and imperialism. Imperialism as economic rivalries and competition for colonies among European nations were prevalent.