The Causes That Led To War In 1914

In 1914, one of the most important wars in History broke out. At that time, Frank Ferdinand of Austria and his wife, Sophie, had been killed in Sarajevo by a teenage terrorist. This murder is a short – term cause which led to war. Also, there were several long – term causes which made Europe go to war as well. For example, Imperialism, Nationalism, Militarism and The Alliances. The aim of this essay is to show how these causes led to war in 1914.In order to do so I will examine each of them and I will asses if the murder in Sarajevo was the main cause that led to the outbreak of war. One of the causes was The Alliances. These were agreements or promises to defend and help other countries. In 1914, the most powerful countries in Europe were

It needed to protect against Germany and get back Alsace- Lorraine which Germany had taken from. Finally, Russia, which had a rivalry with Austria – Hungary. So, this is one of the reasons why it was so friendly with Serbia. Another reason was that the Prussians and the Serbs were Slavs. Russia began to build up a large army because they couldn’t afford the failure at the war with Japan in 1905. Therefore, we can say that the System of Alliances was an important cause that led to war because it divided Europe into two blocks and it turned conflicts into wars. One of the most significant causes of tension was Militarism. This was building up armed forces, getting ready for war. For example, the Anglo German Naval Rivalry, which developed after 1900. Since 1805, Britain had ruled the seas without any problem. But this changed in 1898, when Kaiser, Wilhelm, wanted to build a powerful German navy to protect its growing trade. Britain felt threatened by this. Added to this, in 1906 Britain launched HMS Dreadnought. Germany responded by building its own Dreadnoughts. What is more, the naval race was well and truly and they spent millions on their new ships. Therefore, we can say that Militarism was an important cause that led to war, as it increased tension and suspicion between states. Another cause was Imperialism. This means that they were trying to build up an empire. For example, there were two events which increased the tension. The first one was in 1905, when Kaiser visited Morocco to show that Germany was now an important power in the area. He said he supported the Moroccans in the struggle against the French. Because of this, France was furious. The other event was in 1911 when he sent a gunboat to Agadir in