5 top causes of World War I
1. Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
The Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to Austria-Hungary's throne, was assassinated by Gavrilo Princip. Gavrilo Princip was a Serbian nationalist. This led to Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia.
This event was significant because it triggered the beginning of WWI.
2. Militarism
The Arms Race was when their was a competition between who would make the most weapons, dreadnoughts, etc.
Militarism is significant because it helped push the countries in Europe to get involved with the war.
3. Alliances
Since Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, Russia allied with Serbia to defend them. When Russia mobilized, Germany declared war on Russia. Then France allied with Russia to defend them. Germany attacked France and brought Britain into the war.
Alliances were significant because it caused major conflict between countries, which let to war.
4. Nationalism
France lost Alsace-Lorraine in the Franco Prussian war and wanted to gain it back.
Slavs in Bosnia did not want to be apart of Austria-Hungary anymore, but instead apart of Serbia.
Each country involved in WWI wanted to prove how strong and powerful they are, and be controlled by their own people.
5. Imperialism
Imperialism is when a country takes over another country's land. The European countries competed to gain more control of land in Africa and Asia.