ipl-logo

Imperialism: The Cause Of World War I

1021 Words5 Pages

On June 28th, 1914, Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was assassinated along with his wife by Serbian nationalist, Gavrilo Princip, in Sarajevo, Bosnia (history.com). This single event started the phenomenon that would engulf Europe, drawing in countries from across the world. World War I was not, at first, a global war; it started with Austria-Hungary simply declaring war on Serbia. Due to the alliance system, imperialism, and nationalism, the war only expanded and became more complex. Even with these facts, many historians believe that the war was pointless and unnecessary. Through analyzing that it was not circumstantial but desired and therefore, bound to happen, World War I may have the ability to be seen as pointless, …show more content…

Imperialism is where a powerful nation extends its influence over a weaker one. All of the countries like, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, the US, and Italy were all major world powers in which they all believed to be the greatest. They all had been racing to colonize the remaining territory in the world, such as in Africa (alphahistory.com - imperialism). They wanted to have the most land and illustrate their power. War in an imperialistic view is a winner takes all scenario. In their minds, if they were ever to fight, they had to be the best. This is what contributed to the alliances. Being ready in case of war was just a precaution to ensure that they were the strongest nation. The more powerful a country was led the more influence that they had. By the time that war had broken out, the major powers of Europe and even the world were ready to prove themselves to be the strongest. With a ready to fight mentality, they ultimately took the first chance to do so. If World War I never happened, they would just keep waiting for another chance. By desiring war as a way to spread their influence, countries’ imperialistic views helped them take the first opportunity to fight. This made the chance a world war unavoidable. World War I was necessary to fulfil the desire to prove themselves due to their imperialistic views. …show more content…

It only took one spark to set off one of the biggest wars in history. Franz Ferdinand’s assassination started World War I by simply being that spark. The ideals and mentalities of the world made a war unavoidable. World War I may not have started due to a global concern, but it could have stopped an even bigger disaster from unfolding later. Historians may call the Great War unnecessary or pointless, but with the circumstances of the political world, World War I can be equally viewed as necessary for the benefit of the world and all of its

Show More
Related

  • World War 1 Dbq Essay

    785 Words  | 4 Pages

    Many countries involved in World War I failed to see how they could have avoided conflict. and in many cases, some countries should have been held responsible for the cause of World War I. The war started with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand at the hands of the Black Hand a Serbian nationalist group. After the assassination Of the Archduke, the war advanced with the two countries Austria- Hungary and Serbia too prideful to admit that they could come to a peaceful solution to solve the conflict Both countries ´ had allies that joined the war and those countries' allies joined the war.

    Read More

  • Imperialism In Ww1

    402 Words  | 2 Pages

    Militarism was the development of armed forces and their use as a tool of diplomacy. Imperialism is a policy in which stronger nations extend their economic, political, or military control over weaker territories. The Alliance System was the nations banding together for protection or defensive purposes. The Alliance System split into two different groups in Europe. One was the Allies who were the British, French and the Russians.

    Read More

  • Why Did Nationalism Cause Ww1 Essay

    841 Words  | 4 Pages

    How did nationalism cause WW1? 1910-1919 Nationalism was the main cause of World War One. The direct result of it led to the militarization of Europe’s countries, nationalistic feelings in Yugoslavia, and the alliances formed before the war. Despite the common idea that the first world war started because of Archduke Franz Ferdinand’s assassination, it was only a reason for Austria-Hungary to declare war. Nationalism was the driving factor to his assassination, and would not have happened without it.

    Read More

  • How Did Austria-Hungary Cause Ww1

    872 Words  | 4 Pages

    Austria-Hungary’s Cause of World War I The trigger of one gun being pulled caused the death of 17 million people. On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife of Austria-Hungary were shot and killed by 19-year-old Serbian Nationalist, Gavrilo Princip, during a motorcade after an unsuccessful attempt at bombing Ferdinand. Because of the Triple Entente of France, Britain, and Russia and the Triple Alliance of Austria-Hungary, Germany, and Italy, this event started a chain reaction.

    Read More

  • Dbq Causes Of World War 1

    1323 Words  | 6 Pages

    Imperialism is the underlying cause of World War I because it not only caused bitterness among countries with less colonial rule, it also promoted the increase in militarism and alliances. Colonies were forced to fight alongside

    Read More

  • What Were The Underlying Causes Of World War 1 Essay

    756 Words  | 4 Pages

    There were a variety of underlying causes in World War I. They were militarism, alliances, nationalism, and a mix of imperialism. Before the war Nations started to build up their arms (DBQ: What Were the Underlying Causes of World War 1, 2010, Doc 7) making a competition for dominance, and alliances are formed making powerful armies. Nations produced propaganda infuriating the citizens and giving the pride in their nation which led to nationalism. Nationalism is a patriotic feeling for your nation, causing new literature relating to the war, for example this poem “When Britain first at Heaven's command Arose from out the azure Main; This was the charter of the land, And guardian angels sand this strain;...

    Read More

  • The Economic And Economic Causes Of Imperialism

    1520 Words  | 7 Pages

    Imperialism is the ambition of a powerful nation to dominate the political, economical, and cultural affairs of another nation or region. The idea of imperialism occurred after the Industrial Revolution in the late 19th century and early 20th century. The specific years of imperialism are from 1870-1914. The regions that were affected by imperialism include Africa, Asia, and Latin America. These region were wanted by the imperialist powers of this time, which were: Germany, Great Britain, Belgium, France, Italy, Portugal, and Spain.

    Read More

  • Dbq Analysis Of The Causes Of World War I

    374 Words  | 2 Pages

    Causes of World War I World War I was one of the worst battles in history. The number of money spent and deaths are unbelievable. Nations spent millions on the war.

    Read More

  • How Did Alliances Cause Ww1

    667 Words  | 3 Pages

    Most alliances were signed in private and not all details were told to the public. The secretive nature caused other countries to be suspicious. As the large nations banded together in many different alliances for different reasons, they built relationships and gained resources needed to go to war. Alliances were a major reason the war became bigger. If there hadn’t been alliances, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand would have only cause a war between Serbia and Austria-Hungary.

    Read More

  • Why Imperialism Caused World War 1

    1998 Words  | 8 Pages

    There were cultural and economic motives for imperialism. First economic, Many countries were industrialized in 1900s, and they needed a lot of materials that they did not have. In order not to depend on others, which nobody wanted, many strong countries started conquering territories and had the necessary materials. Also, followed by the industrialization, population grew as quickly as never before. New jobs were needed and people who were unemployed, left to other countries to find jobs.

    Read More

  • Essay On Why Was World War 1 Inevitable

    914 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Unpreventable Great War World War I was one of the most devastating and destructive events that occurred during history. It was inevitable to happen due to three main factors including, militarism, nationalism, and alliances between certain countries. However, there are other people who believe that World War I was not inevitable and could have been prevented through certain measures. This source describes that World War I could have been prevented if there were more stable and successful negotiations between countries. However, due to the lack of peaceful negotiations between certain countries, many conflicts arose because of desires to expand military and navels.

    Read More

  • How Did Archduke Franz Ferdinand Cause Ww1

    614 Words  | 3 Pages

    There was more than just one incident that led to World War I. Americans killed on a sunken ship, the use of restricted submarines, and the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand. President Wilson did all he could to avoid a conflict. When things got out of hand for him, he pushed back. The Bible scriptures states that there is a time for war, and I am sure that God’s direction was taken into consideration before war was declared. Archduke Franz Ferdinand was a friend of Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany.

    Read More

  • The Assassination Of Archduke Franz Ferdinand In 1914

    1093 Words  | 5 Pages

    World War 1 was the first global conflict as it was a struggle between the leading world powers in Europe that had colonised the 19th century. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Bosnia, heir to the Austrian-Hungary throne was a major trigger factor that led to the World War breaking out. It initially began as a European quarrel caused by the rivalry between nations which led to a series of mobilisations. In addition, there were many other vital factors to consider and these include Imperialism, Nationalism, Alliances and Militarism. This essay will explain how the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in 1914 triggered a number of events that led to the outbreak of World War 1.

    Read More

  • Long Term Causes Of World War 1 Essay

    817 Words  | 4 Pages

    During the 1900s, many people took pride in their countries and wanted to prove the world how great their country is. And to do that, they would have to declare and win a war against their rivals. It led to the war for the reason that the overconfidence fueled their strength in militarism. This is probably why other countries such as Portugal and Italy joined the war- simply because of their confidence. There were downsides to it- it made the war longer then everyone thought it would be as there were so many countries fighting, hence being called World War 1.

    Read More

  • Major Causes Of Imperialism

    1163 Words  | 5 Pages

    Imperialism, which is the policy of a strong country extending power and influence through diplomacy or military force to take control over a weaker country. In simpler words, imperialism is when a strong country takes control over a weaker country. Imperialism has been present throughout the world 's history and still has influence today. Some specific causes of imperialism are economics, ethnocentrism, exploration, politics, and religion. Two events that were caused by imperialism was World War One and the invasion of Africa.

    Read More

More about Imperialism: The Cause Of World War I

Open Document