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What Are The Four Causes Of World War

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What Are The Four Causes Of World War
The Four Causes of World War I

Mary Kate Fleisher
Honors Global 101
Period 7

The four main causes of World War I are nationalism, militarism, imperialism, and alliances. As Europe underwent extreme changes and industrialization, these causes began to pop up throughout Europe. The Industrial Revolution and Scientific Revolution had just ended, and Europe was looking for a time of peace. Although there were many movements for peace, concepts like nationalism, imperialism, militarism, and tangled alliances created tension throughout Europe. This tension would ultimately create a global conflict that would tear the world apart. Nationalism was a major cause of World War I because countries were pitted against each other through extreme patriotism. Nationalism is the belief that one’s country is superior to another because of political, economic, and cultural superiority. Because these European countries were pitted against each other, wars were prone in Europe during the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Nationalism also played a large role in the fight for independence that was
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As several European nations dominated and colonized nations, the race for complete sovereignty began. Countries such as Great Britain, France, Japan, and Belgium commenced the fight for control over less industrialized territories. Territories that were imperialized were territories like Africa and China. Imperialism also increased tension between colonies and the imperialist nation. The reason for imperialization was that these countries wanted were for economic, political, and religious reasons. This fuelled the rivalries between these nationalistic and imperializing countries. Imperialism also drew attention to the Ottoman Empire as it fell. Countries like Britain and France saw this as an opportunity to increase their influence and access in Eastern

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