Long Term Causes of world war i
Militarism-Means that the army and military forces are given a high profile by the government.
After the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, The growing European divide led to an military superiority race between the main countries. The armies of both France and Germany had more than doubled between 1870 and 1914 and there was fierce competition between Britain and Germany for mastery of the seas. The British had introduced the 'Dreadnought', an effective battleship, in 1906. The Germans soon followed suit introducing their own battleships. The Germans also drew up a plan of action that involved attacking France through Belgium if Russia made an attack on Germany.
Alliances- An agreement made between two or more countries to give each other help if it is needed. When an alliance is signed, those countries become known as Allies.
A number of alliances had been signed by countries between the years 1879 and 1914. These were important because they meant that some countries had no option but to declare war if one of their allies. declared war first. After the Archduke's assassination, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia and moved troops over the border. Russia, being allies of Serbia declared war on Austria-Hungary.
Germany, being allies of Austria-Hungary declared war on Russia and France. It was a constant chain of events that eventually sprung out into an all-out war.
Germany, being allies of Austria-Hungary declared war on Russia and France. It was a constant chain of events that eventually sprung out into an all-out war.
iMPERIALISM- when a country takes over new lands or countries and makes them subject to their rule.
With the rise of industrialism, countries needed new markets. The amount of lands 'owned' by Britain and France increased the rivalry with Germany who had entered the scramble to acquire more colonies late and only had small areas of Africa left for colonization. Other European countries were jealous of the countries that had other places where they could gather raw materials and cheap labor.
Nationalism- being a strong supporter of the rights and interests of one's country.
Nationalism encouraged public support for military build-ups and for a country's use of force to achieve its goals. By the late 1800's, Germany had the best-trained army in the world. In 1898 Germany began developing a naval force that was big enough to challenge the British navy. Advances in technology helped aid in making military forces stronger. Machine guns and other new arms fired more accurately and more rapidly than earlier weapons. By the end of the 1800's, technology enabled countries to fight longer and bear greater losses that ever before.