What Are The Causes Of World War 1 Essay

The Causes of World War I:

The assassination of Franz Ferdinand, Austrian Archduke, is often cited as the direct cause of WWI. While it was a significant catalyst to the war, the circumstances surrounding WWI were actually more complicated. The first great world war was caused by a variety of factors including: tensions between countries due to a threatening system of alliances, stockpiling of weaponry, and nationalism.
The threat of war between European nations was gradually increasing right up until 1914. Prior to that time, Europe’s main powers were divided into two alliances. Germany, Austria, and Italy made up what was called the “Triple Alliance”; while Britain, Russia, and France were known as the “Triple Entente” (as shown in document 2 which depicts Europe on the eve of WWI and the alliance systems). There was a tacit understanding that if one nation of the alliance entered into a conflict, the other nations would remain loyal to said nation. These existing alliances drew multiple nations into the war. For instance, Germany was brought into the war when it’s ally, Austria-Hungary, declared war on Serbia. Russia was allied with Serbia and France. These alliances

further increased tensions between countries.
The purchases of weaponry and build up of defenses contributed to the tension build-up between the European nations as well. From 1910 to 1914, as shown in document 1: the Rise of Military Spending among Europe’s Leading Powers, European nations such as France, Great Britain, Germany, and Russia greatly increased spending on weaponry. The stockpiling of these weapons was progressively threatening to other European nations. The more weapons a nation bought, or the more they had in their control, the more intimidating they were to other nations. Under these conditions, war was almost inevitable.
Finally, the concept of nationalism spread and further increased tensions throughout Europe. National pride in it of itself can be relatively harmless, but in an extreme form it gives rise to a superiority complex. Competition among neighboring nations often escalate quickly which resulted in one nation attempting to overpower and conquer another. European nations believed that their nation would come out of any war with a victory in hand. Since the people believed that their nations and military could win any fight, very little was done to decrease the chance of war. Instead, each country placed their energy in proving their power and dominance. As a result of the relentless competition between the nations, a war was ignited. This sense of nationalism greatly increased the tensions between European Nations. These tensions came to be so immense, that a war erupted.
Tensions were very high in the early 1900’s due to a combination of these factors listed above.

These components in particular set them off and created a world war. Without the system of alliances, purchases of weaponry, and a sense of nationalism, a war would've never had erupted. These alliances took an originally minuscule issue, and turned it into something much larger. The purchases of weaponry set off a theoretical alarm in the European countries structural interior and immediately put them into defense mode. Additionally, the sense of nationalism not only sparked a want for war among the government, but among the people as well, whom believed that their country was insurmountable. All of these factors eventually led to what is often referred to today as, the first great world

war.