What Are The Causes Of World War 1 Essay

The Causes of World War I:

The assassination of Franz Ferdinand, Austrian Archduke, is often cited as the direct cause of WWI. While it was a significant catalyst to the war, the circumstances surrounding WWI were actually more complicated. The first great world war was caused by a variety of factors including: tensions between countries due to a threatening system of alliances, stockpiling of weaponry, and nationalism. The threat of war between European nations was gradually increasing right up until 1914. Prior to that time, Europe’s main powers were divided into two alliances. Germany, Austria, and Italy made up what was called the “Triple Alliance”; while Britain, Russia, and France were known as the “Triple Entente” (as shown in document 2 which depicts Europe on the eve of WWI and the alliance systems). There was a tacit understanding that if one nation of the alliance entered into a conflict, the other nations would remain loyal to said nation. These existing alliances drew multiple nations into the war. For instance, Germany was brought into the war when it’s ally, Austria-Hungary, declared war on Serbia. Russia was allied with Serbia and France. These alliances

These components in particular set them off and created a world war. Without the system of alliances, purchases of weaponry, and a sense of nationalism, a war would've never had erupted. These alliances took an originally minuscule issue, and turned it into something much larger. The purchases of weaponry set off a theoretical alarm in the European countries structural interior and immediately put them into defense mode. Additionally, the sense of nationalism not only sparked a want for war among the government, but among the people as well, whom believed that their country was insurmountable. All of these factors eventually led to what is often referred to today as, the first great world