Maximus

Causes of World War One

1. Long term causes (getting prepared)

1. COLONIALISM and imperial rivalry

2. Arms and Naval race

3. The Alliance System

4. Militarism and War Plans

2. Short Term Causes (initial skirmishes stage)

1. The Moroccan Crises, 1904 and 1911

2. Balkan Nationalism and the Bosnian Crisis, 1908

3. The Balkan Wars, 1912-13

3. The Immediate Cause (the ‘GO’ stage, everybody rushing in)

- Assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand, June 1914.

Colonialism and Imperial Rivalry

1- What is Colonialism?

The conquest and acquisition of territory (colonies) by a ‘mother country’

(eg. Great Britain) to create and Empire

2- What is Imperial Rivalry?

It was the competition between the Great Powers to increase/expand their Empires by adding new territories (colonies) to them.

3- Why do countries want Empires and colonies?

Markets for trade; raw materials for industry; military and naval outposts; convict dumping grounds; status symbols...

(Refer to textbook pages 7-10)

-Britain had the most extensive Empire- described as the Empire ‘on which the Sun never set’.

-France also had a large Empire, especially in Africa.

-Germany (Kaiser Wilhelm II) was jealous and wanted to match, and if possible overtake, Britain’s and France’s Empires. He wanted his own ‘place in the sun’

Arms and Naval Race

Colonial and imperial rivalries resulted in a huge build up of military technology in Europe, with the Great powers regarding the size of their armies and navies as a symbol if their power and prestige

The naval race between Great Britain and Germany grew out of the new German foreign policy adopted from the 1890’s. (page 11)

The new foreign policy was called Weltpolitik.

HMS Dreadnought... ten 12 inch guns, 21.6 knots 11 inch armour

Germany’s initiation of a naval arms race had had an impact upon the actions and attitudes of the rest of Europe in preparing for war. (page 15)

-Who won the Naval Race between 1906...