To what extent was Europe, 1890, an area of growing tension sowing the seeds of its own destruction

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To what extent was Europe, 1890, an area of growing tension sowing the seeds of its own destruction?

Around 1890 it was apparent that conflict in Europe was almost inevitable, due to many factors to sides (armed camps) had aroused these were; The Triple Entente and The Triple Alliance, through wars and turbulence in Europe the eventual outcome was the outbreak of the first world war. The western powers expanded colonies. However, national rivalries gradually grew and alliance camps emerged. Economic competition and arms race also became intense. The Balkans became a hotpot of western intervention, as the Ottoman Empire declined. Finally war broke out in 1914, a war which was unexpectedly disastrous and destructive in scale. The war was caused by a number of interwoven factors.

The first of these factors being nationalism.In 19th Century Europe the desire of subject peoples for independence (This led to a series of national struggles for independence among the Balkan peoples. Other powers got involved and caused much instability.). The desire of independent nations for dominance and prestige. As the powers try to dominate each other in Europe, their rivalries may be regarded as one of the causes of the First World War.

Germany was united in 1871 as a result of the Franco-Prussian War, and she rapidly became the strongest economic and military power in Europe. From 1871 to 1890, Germany wanted to preserve her hegemony in Europe by forming a series of peaceful alliances with other powers, one of these powers was Austria-Hungary. Austria-Hungary was established as the Dual Monarchy in 1867. The Dual Monarchy ruled over a large empire consisting of many nationalities, but only the Austrians (racially they were German) and the Hungarians had the right to rule.

One of the powers who were against Germany (for reasons later to be discussed was Russia.  Russia was the largest and most populous country in Europe. It extended from the shores of the Arctic Ocean to those of the Black Sea and from the Baltic Sea eastwards to the Pacific Ocean. Two thirds of her people were Slavs. She was still territorially ambitious. She wanted to expand in all directions. In 1870, Russia broke the Treaty of Paris and renewed her aggression in the Balkans. Thus, her territorial ambitions clashed with the interests of Austria-Hungary and Britain. However, Russia did not retreat. Being a 'landlocked' state, she wanted to acquire warm water ports in the Balkans (e.g. Constantinople). Moreover, as most of the Balkan peoples were of the Slav race, Russia could claim to be the protector of her brother races in her expansion.

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In Europe before 1890 there had been many alliances made mainly by Bismarck, Bismarck organized a system of alliances designed to maintain Germany's hegemony on the European continent. France was determined to challenge the hegemony of Germany because France had been defeated by Germany in 1871 and had been forced to cede two provinces (Alsace-Lorraine) to Germany. Bismarck tried to befriend Austria, Russia, Italy and Britain in order to isolate France. There were many alliances formed in this time but here are the main ones and how they effected the growing tension within Europe:

The Dreikaiserbund of 1872, Bismarck's aim ...

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