Causes of World War I

Nationalism:A feeling of deep loyalty to ones people and homeland.
1. Extreme nationalism had begun causing problems in Europe by the early twentieth century, Especially those of Serbia and Austria-Hungary
  1. In 1908, Austria-Hungary had annexed Bosnia. Many from Serbian descent lived in Bosnia, and reluctantly followed under Austrian rule.
  2. Many Bosnian Serbs were determined to free Bosnia from Austria and unite to form one powerful nation, which caused the formation of the terrorist group, "The Black Hand." Their motto was "Union (with Serbia) or Death.
  3. The terrorist group, "The Black Hand" had threatened to kill the Archduke Ferdinand if he entered Bosnia. On June 28, 1914, when the Archduke and Archduchess had visited, The Black Hand had achieved this act. This is what is believed to be the beginning of this War.
Alliances: Formed when countries band together against a common threat, and promise to support each other in times of war.
1. France and Germany have always had faced conflicts with each other. By 1914, these countries had begun search for alliances in case of future wars.
  1. The "Triple Entente" or "Allies" was formed when France had formed alliances with Russia and Britian
  2. The "Triple Alliance" or "Central Power" was formed when Germany had allied with Austria-Hungary and Italy. However, with the war had begun, Italy had left Central Power to join Triple Entente.
  3. Alliances deemed to be dangerous because they arose fear and suspicion among the rivaling nations. During the war, many more alliances are to be made.
Imperialism: The act of extending rule/authority of an empire over foreign countries; or of gaining and holding colonies.
1. As the countries of Europe become more industrialized, they became more interested in gaining colonies. This lead to competition between the major powers of Europe.
  1. France had colonies in northwest Africa and east Asia.
  2. Russia controlled the vast empire across northern Europe and Asia.
  3. Britain was in control of the largest empire which had included Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, Burma, Malaya, South Africa, etc.
  4. The United States was in control of the Hawaiian and Philippine islands in the Pacific.
  5. By the time Germany had begun building an empire, all that was left were some territories in Africa and the Pacific which weren't very valuable.
  6. Competition for raw materials, markets, glory, and power which colonies could provide became intense. Frequent clashes among the major powers of Europe all over the globe had occurred, and many of the serious clashes had been resolved just short a start of a way.
Milirarism: The belief in the power of storing armies and navies to decide issues.
1. It was believed that if a nation was strong, no enemy would dare attack. And if a war does break, a militarized nation will be able to defend themselves. This was thought to be the only guaranteed way to maintain peace; to prepare for war.
  1. This lead to an arms race (competition between countries to achieve superiority in quantity and quality of military arms) in Europe.
  2. Britain had become nervous of Germany when they had begun building a huge navy. Since Britain was an island nation, it depended on its giant navy to guarantee safety. By building a powerful nation, Germany challenged Britain's supremacy at sea.
  3. Nations in Europe were becoming suspicious and alarmed by each others military power. This is believed to be one of the final steps leading to World War I.

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Causes of World War I

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	Created by sumaiya almost 11 years ago