Naval Rivalry as the Main Cause for World War One

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Naval Rivalry as the Main Cause for World War One It has been argued that Naval rivalry was the main cause of World War One, this is because in 1898 Kaiser Wilhelm II wanted to have the most powerful and strongest navy in the world as he was extremely militaristic which worried Britain and consequently caused tension between the two countries. I believe that to a certain extent that Naval Rivalry did contribute to the war but in my opinion there were other factors that triggered off the war. My essay will include all of these different factors, which are: The Moroccan Crisis’, the Balkans crisis, The Alliance Systems and the Assassination of Franz Ferdinand. I will also conclude which I feel is the most important and why. One of the most significant causes of tension in Europe was the naval rivalry witch developed after 1990. Britain had the most powerful navy in the world, this situation began to change when in 1898, and Kaiser Wilhelm II announced his intention to build a strong and powerful navy. Kaiser Wilhelm had British blood running in him, as his grandmother was Queen Victoria who wanted to build a fleet to commensurate with Germany’s status so Wilhelm felt that he needed to prove himself to his family and also have a strong navy. He wanted to project power overseas and to protect Germany’s trade. He believed that only a fleet could accord Germany her proper ‘place in the sun’, besides that a fleet could protect Germany’s interests in any future confrontations with Britain or the US. The tension rose between the two countries, as Britain felt threatened. In 1906 the ‘HMS Dreadnought’, the first super battleship was ... ... middle of paper ... ...ies but also the most backward. The country was almost entirely agricultural. Russia shared worries about the growing power of Germany with Britain and also had a long history of rivalry with Austria-Hungary so joined with Britain and France in the Triple entente. Conclusion ========== In conclusion to my essay, it can be seen throughout that Naval rivalry was not the only cause for the war as all the different events created immense tension, which contributed to WW1. In my opinion Naval rivalry was the strongest point that contributed to the war but I feel that the other points were also very strong and caused anxiety between the six powers. As there was so much tension and so many different points, with so much talk of war and plans for war at that time, I feel that war was in fact inevitable.

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