The Causes of World War I.

Authors Avatar

Tim Newman

Wilmslow High School

11NGJ

The Causes of World War I

World War I was the result of certain countries aggression towards others and by the rising nationalism of the European nations. Economic and imperial competition and fear of war triggered military alliances and an arms race, which further escalated the tension contributing to the outbreak of war.

At the settlement of the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the idea of nationalism was ignored to preserve the peace. Germany and Italy were divided into states but nationalist changes and revolutions led to the unification of Italy in 1861 and that of Germany in 1871. Another result of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71 was that France was left furious over the loss of Alsace-Lorraine to Germany, and revenge was a goal of the French. Nationalism posed a problem for Austria-Hungary and the Balkans, areas made up of many conflicting national groups. The Panslavism of Serbia and Russia's support to its Slavic brother conflicted with Austria-Hungary's Pangermanism.

Another factor that contributed to the rivalry in Europe was imperialism. Great Britain, Germany and France needed foreign markets after the increase in manufacturing caused by the Industrial Revolution. These countries competed for economic development in Africa. Although Britain and France resolved their differences in Africa, several crises before the war involved the Germany against Britain and France in North Africa. In the Middle East, the Ottoman Empire was attractive to Austria-Hungary, the Balkans and Russia.

Join now!

World War I was caused in part by the two opposing alliances developed after the Franco-Prussian War. In order to diplomatically cut off France, Bismarck formed the Three Emperor's League in 1872, an alliance between Germany, Russia and Austria-Hungary. When the French occupied Tunisia, Bismarck took advantage of Italian anger towards France and created the Triple Alliance between Germany, Italy and Austria- Hungary in 1882. In exchange for Italy's agreement to stay neutral if war broke out between Austria-Hungary and Russia, Germany and Austria-Hungary would protect Italy from France. Russia and Austria-Hungary grew suspicious of each other over conflicts ...

This is a preview of the whole essay