One of the foremost causes of the First World War was the complex web of alliances associated with the world’s Great Powers, namely Germany, Austria-Hungary, France, Russia and Great Britain. The multifaceted exchange of alliances originated from the unification of Germany. During this process they had successfully defeated France over Alsace and Lorraine. “The German Empire was proclaimed in January 1871 with Prussia’s King Wilhelm I as its emperor, or Kaiser. Otto von Bismarck became chancellor of a united Germany. France accepted a humiliating peace, paying hefty reparations and handing over the prosperous provinces of Alsace and Lorraine to the new German Empire.” (Ross, 12) The other great powers viewed this unification as an immense growth in power and feared that it would unsettle the balance of power in Europe. “German unification had a far greater impact on continental Europe. France was anxious for revenge, in particular for the return of Alsace and Lorraine. Russia was suspicious of the new power on its western border. The British were not unduly concerned by the formation of a German Empire. Having for centuries regarded France as their main adversary, they looked on Germany a potential ally.” (Ross, 22) Bismarck believed that if France and Russia were to join forces it would be devastating to Germany if they were to go to war. He thought that it would be nearly impossible for Germany to fight enemies from the west and the east and hence attempted to isolate France. He did so by creating the League of the Three Emperors. “This was an expression of friendship between the hereditary emperors of Germany, Russia, and Austria-Hungary. More importantly, in 1879 Bismarck made the Dual Alliance with Austria-Hungary. Bismarck persuaded Italy to join the Alliance in 1882, making it a Triple Alliance. He calmed Russian fears by renewing the League of the Three Emperors and drawing up a Reassurance Treaty (1887), by which Germany and Russia promised not to go to war with one another. (Parkinson, 27) However this reassurance was destroyed once Kaiser Wilhelm II came into power and Russia began searching for another ally, the opportunity that France had been looking for. France and Russia shared a common idea that the combined forces of Austria-Hungary and Germany would create an empire that would stretch from the Baltic all the way to Baghdad. At the time the Russians thought of themselves as the protectors of the Slavs, particularly the Slavs in the Balkans. This idea called Pan-Slavism brought Austria-Hungary and Russia into conflicts. “By January 1894 they [France and Russia] were officially linked in a Dual Alliance of their own.” (Dudley, 32) For the most part Great Britain was not worried about these alliances until “Britain’s worry was that imperial rivalry might provoke a full-scale European war. Confronted by either the Triple or Dual Alliance, or even a combination of the two-Britain would be outnumbered. It needed an ally. (Ross, 18) Later when Russia went to war with Japan over Korea Britain and France remained neutral. Soon after Great Britain and France signed the Entente Cordiale. After several situations and conflicts involving the entente and Germany regarding Morocco Russia and Great Britain decided to dispose of their long standing colonial differences and thus the Triple Entente was formed. “This created a Triple Entente of Britain, France, and Russia to match the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. As time went on, the Germans had an uneasy feeling that they were being encircled.” (Dudley, 14) Since these powers were in a constant state of change all that was needed was a trigger, which would be the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian-Hungarian throne. Nationalism was a major cause of the war however there were other prominent causes to the war such as the complex web of alliances of the major powers. This was a major cause to the war because the alliances promised military support if there were any wars or conflicts, such as the Balkan Crises and similar events which would contribute to the war outbreak.
Another prominent cause of the First World War was the international naval, imperial and commercial rivalry. “Significant tension was also created between nations by imperial and commercial competition. The two were closely linked. An empire, with its exclusive markets and sources of supply, was believed to bring huge commercial benefit to the ruling country.” (Parkinson, 16) A perfect example of this rivalry was that of Great Britain and Germany. Great Britain controlled an immense colonial empire through its most powerful navy. Germany, on the other hand, was becoming an increasingly powerful nation and was “rapidly developing into the leading power on the European continent with an industrial and naval capacity rivaling and even surpassing Great Britain’s.” (Dudley, 36) In terms of imperialism, the British were one of the greatest; they “occupied one-quarter of the world’s land surface. It included India, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, bases such as Hong Kong and Aden, numerous far-flung islands and a huge swath of African territory that ran in an almost unbroken line from Cape Town to Cairo.” (Parkinson, 26) Great Britain took great pride in their success in imperialism and felt threatened when Germany came onto the board. “The British regarded German imperialism as a direct threat to their own international position. They were even more worried when the Germans announced a massive expansion of their navy.” (Ross, 40) The British retained a policy that the Royal Navy should be the size of the next two combined and doubled. This continuous rivalry of naval powers created an immense tension between Germany and Great Britain. “Despite an attempt in 1912 to reach a negotiated settlement, the cripplingly expensive naval arms race went on.” (Ross, 41) Between 1870 and 1914 Germany’s coal production soared 800 percent to rival Britain’s. By the outbreak of the war, Germany was producing as much iron as Britain and twice as much steel. Its electricity output matched that of Britain, France, and Italy combined, while its electrical and chemical industries led the world.” (Ross, 44) This was even more troublesome to Great Britain as it was no longer the head of the industry. Germany’s increase in industrial production meant a “stiff competition for Britain in overseas markets. Britain was able to retain her economic predominance in her own colonies, but in Latin America, the Middle East, and the Far East, she lost heavily to the aggressive German businessmen.” (Dudley, 46) Due to the French treaty with Russia, France had helped Russia’s economy and it had advanced at a phenomenal rate, even surpassing France’s. Germany thought of Russia as quite an imposing threat if it were to continue like it was for a few years, as it had nearly double its population and an immense storage of natural resources and began to feel encircled. Due to these complex rivalries and the resulting tension, the stability of the alliances was weakened to the point that war was imminent. All that was needed was a triggering event; such would be the assassination of the Archduke.
The Great War or later renamed World War I was one of the bloodiest wars in the history of mankind that lasted for four years, starting July 28th 1914 and finishing November 11th 1918. The body count totaled more than eight million people. The war was caused by competition for the world’s resources, both in terms of imperialism and commercial interests, the alliances that intertwined the great powers, and the nationalistic pride of the minorities. The First World War was to a certain extent, caused by nationalism considering that there were other prominent causes that accompanied nationalism, such as the complex web of alliances and the commercial and imperialistic rivalries.
Bibliography
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