The assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand may have been the trigger for World War 1 but tension between these countries had been escalating for years. Due to alliances, militarism, and imperialism, countries began to take sides as each country challenged each other in a political and economical war. It evidently caused severe damage with all the underlying issues.
Alliances were easily made since there were mutual friendships between countries. In Document A, it argues that the separation between the Triple Entente and Triple Alliance was a clear trigger for WW1. The competition between each alliance increased, deepening their issues with one another. This competition resulted in World War I. Also, in 1915, when Italy switched sides from the Triple Alliance to the Triple Entente, it harmed Germany and Austria-Hungary. Not only did it harm them, but also angered them, causing the two countries to be eager in the war. In Document B, the cartoon published a month after war broke out by Chicagoan; John T. McCutcheon resembled the tension and hatred between the countries. The cartoon displays the variety of allies blaming each other while Italy stays neutral. In the background of the cartoon, the hand in the left top corner pointing at the death of peace in Europe is the United States. Since the United States wasn't involved until 1917, it resembled the neutrality among some countries.
A variety of countries were involved in imperialism. Imperialism was at its peak when Germany got involved in the war due to its support by Austria Hungary. “We dont want to step on the toes of any foreign power, but at the same time we don't want our own feet tramped by any foreign power….” [Document D]. When German Chancellor; Bernhard Von B...
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...ument F, size of colonial empires were big in a majority of the countries except Austria-Hungary and Russia. The British colonies had the greatest advantage with the immense population of 400,000,000. With that advantage, Britain was able to have more workers to be drafted into war. Whereas Italy didn't have that advantage due to its low population. Another advantage that countries with the high population like Britain, was that the people of the country improved the economy through taxes. Essentially, the people were used to gain a better military for a harsher war.
Before World War 1, these disputes were certainly the issue generating tension between alliances. After years of maintaining the same issues, it lead up to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Alliances, militarism, and imperialism were the most crucial complications that lead to World War 1.
One country that had imperialism was India. By the mid-1880s, the British East India Company controlled three fifths of India. The cause of British domination was that the land was very diverse and the people could not unite and that the British either paid local princes or used weapons to get control. Positive effects of imperialistic rule in India were that the British set up a stronger economy and more powerful industries. They built roads and railroads. British rule brought peace and order to the countryside. They revised the legal system to promote justice for the Indians regardless of class. Indian landowners and princes, who still owned territory grew rich from exporting cash crops such as cotton and jute. The British introduced the telegraph and the postal system as a means of communication. These improvements and benefits from British rule eventually lead to Indian nationalism. The exposure to European ideas caused an Indian nationalist movement, the people dreamed of ending Imperial ...
McCullough Edward E. How The First World War Began: The Triple Entente and the Coming of the Great War of 1914-1918. North America: Black Rose Books, 1999. Print.
Imperialism was one of the things that played a major role in World War I. Imperialism is basically when one country tries to take over another country in various ways. Germany was attempting to control lands in Africa, which was a place that Britain and France had already established. (Brown, B. (2009, April 23). Causes of world war I (great war). Imperialism takes a lot of time to develop in terms of establishing the dominance needed to secure another nation or country. Therefore, imperialism is seen as a long-term cause WWI. (Brown, B. (2009, April 23). Causes of world war I (great war). By gaining land through imperialism, they had the idea that the country that gained the land would also gain valuable resources like the people and money. (Nationalism, imperialism, and militarism in world war I. (n.d.).
Alliances were a key contributor to the war. Europe was generally divided into two groups of nations. One on one side was Triple Alliance which consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary and for a short time Italy. On the other side was the Triple Entente which also consisted of France, England and Russia. When Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist, Austria logically pointed the finger of blame to the Serbian government. Because of the ethnic ties, Russia quickly sided with Serbia. G...
World War I, the war to end all wars involved most of the civilized world. The assassination of Franz Ferdinand in 1914 is regarded as the cause of World War I, but really, can a single event be blamed for causing a war of this caliber? Preceding the assassination the...
The epoch of imperialism cannot be defined simply as proliferation of inflated egos tied to the hardened opinions of nationalists, but also a multi-faceted global rivalry with roots of philosophies tainted with racism and Social Darwinism. The technique of each imperialist was specific to the motivations and desires of each combative, predominantly Western power and subsequently impacted the success of each imperialist and its colonies. Driven by industrialization, Europeans were aware of the urgent need for raw materials and new markets to maintain a constant rate of expansion and wealth. Imperialism became a competition; in general, the European countries led with fervor while the non-Western regions deemed likely to be stepped on. Britain was endowed with geographic and political advantages that allowed the country to become the first to unwittingly stumble onto industrialization. Britain was an island, therefore had developed a unique naval strength which subsequently gave Britain leverage when globalization blossomed from expanding maritime trade. Meanwhile, the rest of Europe, including Belgium, trailed behind. Presently, colonized regions still bear the traits and scars from the subjugators of their past.
The first world war started in August 1914. The assassination of the Austrian archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife directly triggered the war, but it is believed by most that this was only a spark to start the war, and that there were many other factors leading up to it. These factors include a strong sense of nationalism and militarism within the countries, and the fight for the Balkans between Russia and Austria-Hungary. With imperialism already causing tensions between countries, some believe that the war was inevitable. There is ultimately no main cause or event that triggered the war, but a lot of small tensions that built up over time, eventually coming to a head and starting the war.
When the war broke out, it had become the Entente against the Alliance. The Entente consisted of the United Kingdom, France, Russia, Canada, Portugal, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Greece, Romania, Egypt, Arabia, and Belgium. The Alliance consisted of Germany, Italy, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Turkey, Libya, Sicily, Sardinia, and the Ottoman Empire. Spain, Switzerland, Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden remained Neutral Nations throughout the war. One change that occurred as the war went on is that in 1915, Italy re-aligned to the Entente from the Alliance.
And they faced the other European powers, which consisted of Germany and Italy in the other camp. There were also many smaller countries in both camps including Croatia, Bulgaria and Slovakia all members of the Anti-Comintern Pact and therefore included with the Axis Powers. The main members and founders of the Anti-Comintern Pact, Germany, Italy and Japan were all seen as the 'bad guys' because of their aggressive foreign policies. All three countries' foreign policies involved attacking other countries for resources or land and this is why they were separated from other European countries and branded 'aggressive'. Italy was the first country to pursue their aggressive ways in Europe when Mussolini turned them into a Fascist country in 1922.
The underlying cause of World War 1 were the alliances within Europe. An alliance meant that if one country goes to war than the country associated will also fight. All the countries were picking sides before the war started. Otto von Bismarck, the Chancellor that led the unification of the German states, did not like the fact that Germany was between Russia and France. “Bismarck formed the Triple Alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy in the year preceding
...d conflict. The alliances among European countries were an imminent cause of World War One, because of the lack of trust between unallied nations and the ultra nationalistic view that one country was prominent over another.
Besides the assassination of the archduke there were four other reasons for the start of WW1. 1. Militarism- the building of large armies. All the nations in Europe at that time were engaged in what today could only be called an arms race. As soon as one nation built a new weapon, all the others followed suit. 2. Alliance System- The building of alliances to strengthen the borders of a country. In theses alliances if one country went to war all the other countries in the alliance were forced to go to war also. 3. Imperialism- The practice of colonizing other lands by large European nations. 4.Nationalism- The feeling of Patriotism in a country that makes it compete with all other counties in the area in all areas.
World War I is easily one of the deadliest wars the world has ever seen. Millions of military associates and civilians were left injured, and even more, dead. The war took place within the four years of 1914 to 1918. In 1914, when a Serbian nationalist assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, tensions had triggered in Europ. Austro-Hungary had then invaded Serbia; which then set of the start of a major world conflict. The war ended with an armistice on 11:11 on the eleventh day of the eleventh month, the signing of the Versailles Treaty in 1918 and an Allied victory. Although it still remains a mystery to what the initial cause for WWI was, three important factors were definitely the alliance systems, imperialism and militarism.
There were several long-term events that led to the outbreak of World War One. The most prominent factors include: nationalism, militarism, imperialism, the Balkan and Morocco crises, and the alliance system. Ironically, these things were either started in response to, or upheld because of, one of the other factors. The alliance system was one of the last factors to emerge before the war. Consequentially, the contributions of this system to the beginning of the Great War have to be considered. Although the alliance system was a main cause of the First World War, it arose because of several other factors, and did not cause the war single handedly.
There are many reasons why World War One occurred in 1914, many are complex and remain controversial which is why the matter has been disputed to this day by historians all over the world. My theory is that a lot of those reasons and the trigger factor all links to one thing; the alliance system. The alliance system is what made countries oppose each other and become rivals making it the most significant factor. It had an impact on who supported who when Duke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated. This was only the spark that started war in Europe; there were long term causes that contributed to the war and were the origins. This answer will explain the causes focusing on how they contributed to World War One and what the important links are between them.