1890 Europe As An Area of Growing Tension

1890 Europe As An Area of Growing Tension

Around 1890 it was apparent that conflict in Europe was almost

inevitable, due to many factors to sides (armed camps) had aroused

these were; The Triple Entente and The Triple Alliance, through wars

and turbulence in Europe the eventual outcome was the outbreak of the

first world war. The western powers expanded colonies. However,

national rivalries gradually grew and alliance camps emerged. Economic

competition and arms race also became intense. The Balkans became a

hotpot of western intervention, as the Ottoman Empire declined.

Finally war broke out in 1914, a war which was unexpectedly disastrous

and destructive in scale. The war was caused by a number of interwoven

factors.

The first of these factors being nationalism.In 19th Century Europe

the desire of subject peoples for independence (This led to a series

of national struggles for independence among the Balkan peoples. Other

powers got involved and caused much instability.). The desire of

independent nations for dominance and prestige. As the powers try to

dominate each other in Europe, their rivalries may be regarded as one

of the causes of the First World War.

Germany was united in 1871 as a result of the Franco-Prussian War, and

she rapidly became the strongest economic and military power in

Europe. From 1871 to 1890, Germany wanted to preserve her hegemony in

Europe by forming a series of peaceful alliances with other powers,

one of these powers was Austria-Hungary. Austria-Hungary was

established as the Dual Monarchy in 1867. The Dual Monarchy ruled over

a large empire consisting of many nationalities, but only the

Aust...

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... accelerated from 1880 onwards. Colonial rivalries were a cause of the

First World War for two main reasons; firstly, colonial rivalries led

to strained relations among the European powers. In Africa, all the

European powers except Austria and Russia had colonies there. Thus

there were many clashes among France, Britain, Germany and Italy.

Secondly, colonial rivalry led to indirectly to the formation and

strengthening of alliances and ententes.

So when all these smaller rivalries, alliances and other European

matters are put together they put together a complicated yet

understandable web of reasons why that in 1890 Europe was an area of

growing tension, sowing the seeds of its own destruction, which in

1914 was proven with the outbreak of the First World War which had

seemed inevitable for forty years previous to it!