What Was The Causes Of World War 1 Essay

Many people say that World War I was one of the bloodiest conflicts that the world had ever seen. There are many reasons why people think this and one of them is due to the innovations in military during the late 1800´s. The world powers had expected a short war, but that was not the case. The immediate cause of World War I was the assassination of archduke of Austria-Hungary, Franz Ferdinand. But this was not the only cause of the First World War. The factors that led to this conflict were nationalism, imperialism, militarism, and Mutual Defense alliances.

One of the causes of World War I was Mutual Defense Alliances. “The Great Powers had arranged themselves into two rival alliances, producing a balance of power that, it was hoped, would prevent war (How Stuff Works)”. This plan that was promised to bring peace actually brought the world

“The spark was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914” (Duffy). This assassination started a chain reaction between the powers, and each country was dragged into it by the Mutual Defense Alliances. Gavrilo Princip assassinated Franz Ferdinand on June 28th, 1914. Princip was part of a Serbian nationalist group named the Black Hand. Franz Ferdinand wanted to replace the dual monarchy and create a government that Serbia would be represented with Austria and Hungary. Many Serbians liked the idea but Serbian nationalists did not because they wanted their freedom from Austria and Hungary. Serbians rebelled against Austrian rule in Serbia but they could not gain freedom from them. “Princip envisioned the death of the Archduke as the key that would unlock the shackles binding his people to the Austro-Hungarian Empire (Eye Witness).” He thought that it would free Serbia from the Austro-Hungarian Empire but he did not know that it would also spark the First World