Causes of World War I

While there was a chain of events tat directly led to the fighting, the actual root causes are much deeper. The causes of World War One were alliances, Imperialism, Militarism and Nationalism. I will be going into the detail of these matters to explain the events that triggered the World War. Countries throughout Europe made defense agreements that would pull them into battle meaning, it one country was attacked, allied countries were bound to defend them. This was called alliances. At the start of World War One, Germany and Austria-Hungary allied and became became the Triple Alliance or Central Powers Alliance, when Italy joined in 1882. Fearful of that alliance; in 1894, France made an alliance with Russia, and in 1904 France also made an agreement with Britain. It was called the Entente: not a formal alliance, but a promise to work together. In 1907, Britain made an entente with Russia, forming the triple entente which included France, Russia, and Britain. Unfortunately, back then the governments and politicians thought that the buildup of Armed Forces or alliances would keep the peace by acting as a warning to any nation thinking of attacking them, but nowadays we know different.

Alliances helped cause World War I because the triple entente alarmed Germany, and she felt surrounded by the alliance; this made a worried, uneasy atmosphere. For example when Britain joined the triple entente and France and Russia formed an alliance against Germany, she was fearful and wanted to be ready for an attack, so Germany started building up her empire and Navy. I think this is a valid reason for triggering World War I because each country wanted to be one step ahead of the other, and there is always an end to that, in this case-it was war. Militarism has and alliances are linked because when Germany built up her empire and Navy, she also developed her Militarism.

Another cause was imperialism. European nations ruled smaller countries called colonies, and