The Consequences Of Imperialism In The Early 20th Century

The early 20th century had a remarkable impact on human kind, creating ripples in the continuum of history that are still felt in modern times. The biggest and by far the most remarkable event was World War 1. It's main trigger being the assassination of Archduke Franz the war began tragic and tense. In an attempt to prevent Germany from becoming too powerful, other European joined powers for what was to be an exhausting and long battle of attrition. The war was essentially a huge chain of events, tracing back to the Franco-Prussian War and the actions of important people like Otto Von Bismarck. Different ideologies arose that moved the war in several directions: nationalism came along smoothly with modernization and proved to be an incredible

What moves people more than guns? Ideas, being influenced. Strong influences came along creating pathways for the lingering war. Imperialism was still present in Europe in the decades preceding World War I. Colonies provided not only economic benefits, like raw materials and a foreign market, but were also a point of pride for nationalist people. It demonstrated the power and legacy of the country to everyone. And though this may have been beneficial, it was also a conflicting situation. An example of such a situation is the failure of Anglo-German cooperation in the building of the Baghdad railway. The British press raged against the British government for it to call off this agreement, arguing that Britain shouldn't be invested in the Germans. This situation invited other people to express their discontent with the alliance, and it was eventually dissolved. In this example, tensions were provoked by civil discontent. However, other cases, like Morocco, only served to further antagonize French-German relations as they fought for control of the territory. On the contrary nationalism was so potent because it was embraced by millions of people, mainly because modernization helped it spread rapidly. Born in the French Revolution it's ardent passion for change went along people's ideologies in time of war. Politically, militarism was perhaps the most influential,

He famously said a European War would start from some "damn foolish thing in the Balkans." He was right. It could be said that the Balkan situation was a classic example of conflicting interests. The Russians were interested in the territory because of several reasons, some of which included expansion into Slav territories, access to the Mediterranean and the recovery of Constantinople. Austria-Hungary wanted to expand into Serbian lands to counter the Slavs, as well as to secure the Mediterranean against the Russians. The British wanted the Balkans to gain advantages over the Russians. Added to the conflicting European nations, Christians were planning a rebellion to gain their freedom. The conflicting interests of the great powers escalated the tensions. When Austria-Hungary annexed with Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia grew resentful as they wanted the territory for themselves and became openly hostile to Austria-Hungary. Meanwhile, the Christians were regaining their freedom in the First Balkan War. In the Second Balkan war, the Turks allied with the Greeks and Romanians against the Bulgarians. Austria wanted to attack Serbia, but was discouraged by the Germans and