Causes of WWI
The assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand triggered World War I. However, the war had its origins in developments in the 1800's. The chief causes of World War I were the European Alliances, nationalism, imperialism, and militarism. 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. Nationalism was the next major long-term cause of WWI. Nationalism involved all those who shared a common language, history and culture. It was a strong feeling of support for one's own nation. Nationalists believed that the needs of their nation were more important than the needs of other nations. Nationalists were so proud of their nation that they wanted it to be the richest and most important - and recognized as such. Suc
From 1870 on there was an unwritten competition to take over parts of the world they had earlier considered not worth colonizing. If Germany hadn't allied with Austria the war might have been averted, since the whole world would not have been involved, and tensions created. The military planning in some countries also caused an increased fear of war. To compensate, alliances were formed. Although the Triple Entente was not an official alliance, they all maintained a very close understanding, and were viewed by many as a threat The Alliance System was definitely a prominent cause of WWI. h strong feelings made the countries very aggressive towards other nations and quite unforgiving if their nation had been offended. Italy resented France because they prevented the setting up of Italian colonies, and the British and Russians clashed over who should have control in Persia, but were both worried that Germany would take land in the Middle East. Since military machines were being developed, each country was appointing a general staff of experts. Great Britain's naval policy (to always be twice as big as the next two largest navies put together), along with the predominate feeling of war provided countries with a strong reason to try and create an incredibly strong military force. Nationalism greatly blew up the tension and had an influence in causing WWI. They also have a higher probability of winning in a war on more than one front if they have alliances providing support. The greatest problem with this was that there was a constant fear of an outbreak of war. Another cause of WWI was imperialism. Britain and France, and Germany and France had almost gone to war over clashes in North Africa.
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