Assess The Reasons For The Outbreak Of World War I
Assess the reasons for the outbreak of World War I
There were a number of reasons for the outbreak of World War I. These included: The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the Balkans Crisis, the Alliance System, Imperialism and the arms and naval race between the major European powers. In my opinion, the most important cause of World War I was imperialism.
Firstly, one reason for the outbreak of World War I was the assassination of the Austrian Archduke, Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo on 28th June, 1914. The fact that the assassination was carried out by a Serbian terrorist group called the Black Hand gang, served only to further infuriate the Austro- Hungarian throne. This event was important in determining the outbreak of World War I as it gave Germany, allies of Austria-Hungary, an excuse to exert their power and military force after Kaiser Wilhelm had been ridiculed and embarrassed in the Algeciras conference of 1906.
However, imperialism was in fact the cause for the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The rift between Austria-Hungary and Serbia began in 1908, when the Austrians gained control (by force) of Serbia, which had originally been part of Greater Serbia. Ever since Bosnia had been snatched from Serbia’s control, there had been increasing instability from within the country, due to the fact that many Serbians still lived there, and believed that they were being treated unfairly by the Austrians; this led to the group of young men to finally carry out the assassination in 1914. Moreover, imperialism, along with bitterness and spite, was the reason that the Germans wanted to flaunt their military prowess to all of Europe- they were competing with Britain to become the main power in Europe, and thus gain lands “under the sun” as Kaiser Wilhelm famously said.
Secondly, another reason for the outbreak of World War I was the Balkans crisis. The Balkans is an area in South-East Europe, which was very unstable at the time because of the fact that
There were a number of reasons for the outbreak of World War I. These included: The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the Balkans Crisis, the Alliance System, Imperialism and the arms and naval race between the major European powers. In my opinion, the most important cause of World War I was imperialism.
Firstly, one reason for the outbreak of World War I was the assassination of the Austrian Archduke, Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo on 28th June, 1914. The fact that the assassination was carried out by a Serbian terrorist group called the Black Hand gang, served only to further infuriate the Austro- Hungarian throne. This event was important in determining the outbreak of World War I as it gave Germany, allies of Austria-Hungary, an excuse to exert their power and military force after Kaiser Wilhelm had been ridiculed and embarrassed in the Algeciras conference of 1906.
However, imperialism was in fact the cause for the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The rift between Austria-Hungary and Serbia began in 1908, when the Austrians gained control (by force) of Serbia, which had originally been part of Greater Serbia. Ever since Bosnia had been snatched from Serbia’s control, there had been increasing instability from within the country, due to the fact that many Serbians still lived there, and believed that they were being treated unfairly by the Austrians; this led to the group of young men to finally carry out the assassination in 1914. Moreover, imperialism, along with bitterness and spite, was the reason that the Germans wanted to flaunt their military prowess to all of Europe- they were competing with Britain to become the main power in Europe, and thus gain lands “under the sun” as Kaiser Wilhelm famously said.
Secondly, another reason for the outbreak of World War I was the Balkans crisis. The Balkans is an area in South-East Europe, which was very unstable at the time because of the fact that