Analysis Of The Underlying Causes Of World War I

More than thirty million soldiers and civilians died during World War I. The tragic war took place in Europe from 1914 to 1918, after a Serbian assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife. The assassination initiated the war, but deeper reasons continued it. There were three underlying causes of World War I: alliances, militarism, and imperialism. A hidden cause of World War I was alliances. In the cartoon in Document B, the soldiers representing each nation are pointing fingers at each other. After Austria-Hungary demanded an apology from Serbia, other nations became involved due to their alliances with either side. This resulted in a chain of new nations joining the war to aid their allies. Moreover, two agreements formed among the nations – the Triple Alliance (an agreement between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy) and the Triple Entente (an agreement between France, England, and Russia). If one nation attacked the other, then every nation in both alliances would find themselves at war. The battles could also easily spread, dragging previously neutral neighboring nations into the violence. Militarism was another underlying cause of World War I. For instance, the bar chart in Document C revealed that countries more than doubled their spending on arms in more than two decades (from 1890 to 1914). After spending so much money on arms, it is likely that the armies would want to test them out in combat.

Additionally, the existence of arms ready to be used also discourages a cooling-off period, resulting in quick tempers that prevail and cause war. In his 1899 speech before the German congress, Bernhard von Bülow claimed, “There is no welfare for us without power, without a strong army and a strong fleet”. He stated a basic philosophy of survival of the fittest – to kill or be killed. Since Germany lagged behind Britain in armaments, an arms build-up would be vital for the country’s survival. While alliances and militarism were major factors that contributed to the causes of World War I, the primary reason was imperialism. To illustrate, Austria-Hungary and Russia lacked a large colonial population and did not hold any areas of colonies. A lack of colonies meant fewer natural resources and fewer markets for selling goods. Economic weakness and desperation would eventually lead to war. Furthermore, in the German cartoon, England was described as the “bloodsucker of the world”. The British were invading and obtaining natural resources from other countries and continents. The fear of British colonialism would most likely result in nations defending their freedom through violence and warfare. In essence, despite several other causes of World War I (e.g., nationalism), the three key causes were alliances, militarism, and imperialism. Although forming alliances and building up arms contributed to the war, they were only means of acquiring and maintaining colonial (imperial) possessions. In addition, the fear of imperialism resulted in the formation of alliances among nations, and the accumulation of arms as methods of defense against nations with colonialist intentions. Although these particular circumstances were unique to World War I, the same three general reasons would eventually cause another more devastating war – World War II.