One of the things that made the First World War practically inevitable was the strong will for power that some countries had. Germany, for example, was pretty confident that it can become a major power and was ready to do whatever it takes to become one.( 11.2 Causes) So Germany wanted to fight, in order to get more powerful and control more things. Great Britain, France and Russia had similar if not completely the same goals. Thus, sooner or later they would have fought a war for power.
Imperialism was another important feature that caused World War I and that was one of the reasons for the war to be inevitable. (11.2 Causes) Before 1914 European countries were fighting who will get more territory outside Europe, since that brings more raw materials, and possibilities for trading. (11.2 Causes) At a point though, the territory they could get was already divided among them. So then, the conflict was that each country wanted more territory and had to fight with the others to get it. Thus a war would have started soon, because of territorial conflicts.
Alliances were also an important feature in making the First World War happen. In an alliance, two or more countries have an agreement to help each other in case of a war. Throughout the years prior the war, two major alliances appeared in Europe. One was the Triple Alliance between Germany, Italy and Austria – Hungary. (The Causes) The other one was the Entente between Russia and France. (Karpilovski) So, if any of those countries was attacked for one or another reason, all five of them would have to join the war. So even if the direct cause of the war was different than the assassination, all of those countries would have been in war.
The First World War was inevitable. Even if the Archduke was not assassinated, the imperialism, desire for power and alliance system would have caused the war anyway. It was just a matter of time, before some of the countries declared war on another one. The assassination just sped up the course of actions, and led to the first Great War in the World History.
Works Cited
“11.2 Causes of World War I”. PinkMonkey.com. 14 October 2004 <http://www.pinkmonkey.com/studyguides/subjects/worldhis/chap11/w1111201.asp>.
“Causes of World War 1”. Page Wise Inc. 29 September 2004 <http://sdsd.essortment.com/worldwaricaus_nbk.htm>.
“Feature Articles: The Causes of World War One”. 24 March 2004. 29 September 2004 <http://www.firstworldwar.com/origins/causes.htm>.
Karpilovsky, Suzanne, Maria Fogel, and Olivia Kobelt. “The Great War, Causes”. 14 October 2004 <http://www.pvhs.chico.k12.ca.us/~bsilva/projects/great_war/causes.htm>.
“The Causes for World War 1”. 14 October 2004 <http://www.angelfire.com/mi3/ww1/causes.html>.