Essay On The Causes Of World War 1

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World War I was one of the bloodiest wars that the world has ever seen. The question remains today, what was the reason for World War I to occur? If you were to look back at World War I, you would see that there were direct and indirect causes to the war. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand was a direct immediate cause. That was not the only cause of the war. Four underlying causes broke the general peace and balance of power in early 20th century Europe. World War I undeniably was caused by militaristic attitudes, entangled alliances, imperialistic movements and nationalistic behaviors.
The initial “spark” of World War I was the assassination of the heir to the Austrian throne. Archduke Franz Ferdinand was tragically killed on 28 June 1914 by 19-year- old Serbian nationalist, Gavrilo Princip.
Seeing his opportunity, Princip fired into the car, shooting Franz Ferdinand and Sophie (Ferdinand’s wife) at point-blank range. Princip then turned the gun on himself, but was prevented from shooting it by a bystander who threw himself upon the young assassin. A mob of angry onlookers attacked Princip, who fought back and was subsequently wrestled away by the police. Meanwhile, Franz Ferdinand and Sophie lay fatally wounded in their limousine as it rushed to seek help; they both died within the hour. ("Archduke Franz Ferdinand Assassinated")
Following the assassination attempt Austria-Hungary demanded that Serbia meet several provisions to avoid war: One Serbia would allow Austria-Hungarian troops into Serbia to eliminate radicals. Two, Serbia would allow Austrian-Hungarian officials into Serbia to investigate the assassination. These actions would threaten Serbian independence and Austria-Hungary knew that Serbia would not agre...

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Many actions led up to the start of World War I. Immediate causes: the assassination of the heir of Austria-Hungry and gradual causes: militarism, alliances, imperialism, and nationalism were prominent forces that led to war. However, they main underlying forces were the gradually occurring ones.
Contradicting to what most believed to have been the main cause of World War I, the underlying main causes of World War I did not have direct association to Germany. There were alliance systems that spread all throughout Europe. There was a glorification of the practice of militarism by several countries. There was a rush to conquer all of the countries and imperialize each nation. There was an overly compulsive character of nationalism expressed by each individual nation. The true causes of World War I are often not examined and are without a doubt MAIN contributors.

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