Another factor for the war was the Great Powers; countries were getting more power hungry and were starting to build up their navies and industries. The German empire was growing and the separate states had joined together to make Germany very powerful. However it was Britain that was the richest nation in the world. Past wars had an effect on who was against whom and increased the tension and competition between countries which might have been unresolved. For example, in 1870 the Germans beat the French in the Franco-Prussian war which was why both countries hated each other. The results and consequences of this war was an early starting point for WWI to happen. There was economic rivalry; the rulers of other countries were jealous of Britain for being rich and powerful which led to the Germany and England having a Naval Arms race. The Great powers had left tensions high and almost to breaking point in Europe with intense competitions and power struggles.
A major build up of armies in main countries resulted in the Naval Arms Race which was another main contribution to the war as it increased tension and more rivalry. The armies of Germany and France had more than doubled but it was Germany and England who were about to compete for the most powerful navy in the world the tension between the two nations had risen. Wilhelm’s dream of being an imperial ruler was about to come true, he had put his plans into practice and had built several powerful ships. The British saw this as a threat. In 1906 the British navy launched the Dreadnought; the first modern battleship. When Germany heard of this they wanted to build a ship similar, bigger and better. And so it happened where the countries started to compete with each other and huge amounts of pressure were put on their shoulders to make more technology advanced weaponry.
Kaiser Wilhelm II played an important part in the causes of The Great War.
He had ambitions for the German Empire to be a world power but never expected a large scale war. Wilhelm decided to go to war with Serbia following the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, when this happened events spiralled out of control resulting in a world war. Because of his great ambitions, Germany and England went head to head in a naval arms race which meant him and his cousin competing against each other causing rivalry and increased tension between the nations.
The assignation of Arch Duke Kaiser Wilhelm was the trigger for WWI and is arguably the most important factor to why war broke out. The Black Hand terrorist group from Serbia considered the Duke as a threat because they wanted independence from Austria-Hungary. On 28 June, 1914, the assassination was successful and this was the action that triggered war. Austria-Hungary wanted revenge because their next ruler was killed so they declared war against Serbia; this is what caused the war. The Alliances ties in with these events as Austria-Hungary formed an alliance with Germany who also went to war with Serbia. I believe that this was the spark that triggered war and caused it to be declared but not a main long term cause like the alliance system.
In conclusion, the causes of World War One included many factors both long term and short term. Some factors go deeper and contributed to the tension and rivalry developing in the nineteenth century among the Great Powers stage. Such as things involving politics, cultures, economics and what I believe to be the most important, the alliance system; lots of other factors tie in with the complex web of alliances. There are many factors that lead on and link in with one another; this just explains a few of the well known factors. Most involve contributing to tension and rivalry. The Great War is considered to be one of the most significant events of the twentieth century.