World+War+1+Causes

Causes of the Great War
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Today, most of the countries of Europe cooperate as members of the European Union. But a century ago, they had not yet learned the lessons of two horrible world wars that took 70 million lives. Instead, Britain, Germany, Russia, France, Austria-Hungary, and Italy struggled constantly for power and wealth. They were in conflict along their borders and in the lands they held in distant corners of the world. The tension and hostility gave rise to four main causes or situations that historians usually use to explain why this war occurred.

 Nationalism
A century ago, Europeans felt great pride in their own nations - a feeling called nationalism. Citizens were expected to be devoted and loyal to their own nation. If they weren't, they could be thrown in jail or even killed. This happened in countries around the world, including Canada.

 Private Fraser was born in Scotland in 1882 and immigrated to Canada when he was 21 years old. Although he lived in Canada, he had a deep connection and loyalty to Scotland and Britain. When the Great War broke out in Europe, a feeling of loyalty to Britain swept across Canada and other nations with ties to Britain, such as Australia, India, New Zealand, Newfoundland, and South Africa. Fraser, who had been working as a bank clerk in Vancouver, enlisted in the first few months of the war. He felt that Britain's war was his own.

An extreme form of Nationalism is "jingoism". It means that some people in a country believe that their country is the best, so much so that they think their country has some natural right to take the resources of another country, or even kill their citizens. They believe their country can do no wrong. There were plenty of "jingos" in all of the major countries involved in World War 1, particularly Britain and Germany.

 Imperialism
Each nation put itself first and competed jealously with the other European powers. For example, Britain, France, Belgium, and Germany all sent explorers and soldiers to claim colonies in Africa, Asia, and the Pacific. This policy of extending a country's rule over other countries or territories is called imperialism. The colonies were used to enhance the prestige of the "mother country." They were also a cheap supply of resources and food. Relations among nations were full of distrust, disagreement, and military threats as European countries carved up the face of the globe in the late 19th century. The cost of this imperialism was millions of lives of those people who were from places claimed by the European and American powers. In the Congo alone it is estimated that 10 million people died because of the Belgian rule there.

When we say "nations", whom are we referring to? Are we talking about students and teachers? Are we talking about the average worker? Or do we mean governments and those people who are close to the government? At this time in history it is certainly a complex question, but much of the time we are talking about those people who are in power, whether government or the upper class citizens of a country.

**The Arms Race **
A century ago there was no United Nations to help settle disputes between countries. Instead, European nations kept armies ready in case they wanted to settle things by force. As tensions grew, nations built up their military power.

 Otto von Bismarck, first chancellor of the German Empire, was behind Germany's development of the largest and most modern army in Europe. But Britain had a special military advantage - for three centuries the British Navy had ruled the seas. In 1906 they built HMS Dreadnought, the first in a series of big, armoured ships with huge guns. Germany challenged Britain by building its own fleet of battleships and submarines. Meanwhile, the Austro-Hungarian army had developed big-bore artillery guns that could fire shells several kilometres on land. The arms race was on.

As tensions mounted in Europe, rival countries started looking for friends - called allies - that they could count on for military help. Step by step, two alliance systems developed, each with three powerful members. Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy formed the Triple
 * Alliance Systems **

Alliance (or the Allies) in the centre of Europe. Arranged around them was the Triple Entente, consisting of Britain, France, and Russia. These alliances were dangerous, because any conflict between two rival powers could quickly draw four more countries into the fight.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Questions
<span style="background-color: #c7eded; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">1. Summarize the four main causes of the war, including one example or event related to each. <span style="background-color: #c7eded; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Cause of the Great War; Example/Event <span style="background-color: #c7eded; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> 1. <span style="background-color: #c7eded; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> 2. <span style="background-color: #c7eded; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> 3. <span style="background-color: #c7eded; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> 4.

<span style="background-color: #c7eded; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">2. If a war started between two countries in Europe, how would it spread to involve the other powers? Why would it be a world war?

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> The First Shots Fired
<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> The June 28, 1914, parade was turning into a disaster. The future king and queen of Austria-Hungary, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophia Chotek, were visiting Sarajevo. Sarajevo was a little Bosnian city in the southern corner of the empire. The Archduke and Sophia were travelling the unguarded route in an open car, and seemed unaware of the presence of the Black Hand terrorist group. This group was made up of Serbian nationalists who were strongly opposed to Austro-Hungarian rule.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> Suddenly, a terrorist tossed a homemade bomb into the car. Ferdinand threw it out, accidentally blowing up the car behind them and injuring the passengers and some spectators. The parade route was quickly changed. There was great confusion as Ferdinand's driver turned the wrong way down a narrow street. As the cars slowed to turn around, a young man broke forward and fired two shots.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> Black Hand terrorist Gavrilo Princip killed both royals. Those were the shots that soon led to the Great War. Later, in prison, he claimed that if he had known his actions would trigger a world war, he would have turned the gun on himself instead. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Video Link <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">media type="youtube" key="lE5R4jb0DFE?fs=1" height="385" width="480" media type="file" key="ferdinand.flv" width="390" height="390"

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> From Assassination to World War
<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> Did Gavrilo Princip really cause World War I? Traditionally, historians have believed that because of the many background causes, little could have been done to prevent war. For years, nationalism, imperialism, the arms race, and the alliance systems had been piling up like dry wood for a bonfire. The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand was the spark that set Europe on fire. European rivals were moving toward war almost on their own, but Princip struck the match.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Questions
<span style="background-color: #c7eded; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">3. Did Gavrilo Princip work alone? Reread carefully, looking for evidence. <span style="background-color: #c7eded; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">4. How responsible was Gavrilo Princip for causing the war? Discuss the question, using information from what you have just read. <span style="background-color: #c7eded; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">5. Look up the word "jingoism" in a dictionary and provide the correct definition.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> TIMELINE: The Outbreak of War
<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">July 28, 1914; Austria-Hungary blames Serbia for the murders of the royals and declares war on Serbia.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> July 28 - July 31, 1914; Russia, Britain, France, and Germany all get ready for war.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> August 1, 1914; Germany declares war on Russia.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> August 3, 1914; Germany begins a surprise attack on Paris through neutral Belgium. The plan was to conquer France and then rush the German army east by railroad to crush Russia.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> August 4, 1914; Britain joins the fight, and the two allies, France and Britain, stop the Germans just short of Paris.