Essay On World War 1 Causes

War and Cause Electrified and full of adrenaline, the soldiers rushed into battle unaware of their imminent and gruesome death ahead of them. On July 28, 1914, World War I commenced when Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. This miniscule conflict between the two countries spread rapidly involving Germany, Russia, Great Britain, and France. When going back to the start of World War I, one question arises. What was the underlying cause of World War I? The key term, underlying, is defined as fundamental or basic. The three underlying causes of World War I were imperialism, militarism and alliances. To begin, imperialism, while not as important as the other two causes, was a contributing factor to the start of World War I. The definition of imperialism is a system where a powerful nation control and exploits one or more colonies.

The definition of militarism is the belief of a government or people that a country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests. In document C, an adapted chart from The London Times History of the World, shows the growth in armaments from 1890 to 1914. The chart shows the money spent in millions for both the army and navy of the countries involved. When determining the dominant country in terms of navy and an army, it depends on what year is depicted. Between 1890 to 1910 Germany and Great Britain were close to being equal, until 1914. In 1914, Germany spent the most amount of money in millions over every other country. The estimated total that Germany spent on their navy and army was 115 million. This highly sophisticated army and navy were considered a measure of national and imperial strength. The other countries, acknowledging this, sought to have an equal or superior army or navy which led to an arms race. This increased military and naval rivalry contributed to the notion that war was