Causes Of WW1

Naval Arms Race- Britain and Germany competing for most powerful navy in world

Scramble for Africa- European countries tried to get as many colonies as possible, leading to many small conflicts around the world. This meant many European countries were not very friendly towards each other

Revenge for 1870- The French were distrustful of the Germans as they had been humiliated by losing the 1870-1871 war

Problems in the Balkans- The Balkans in South-East Europe were claimed by both Russia and Austria. There was great rivalry between these two powers

Desire for Independence- Many European countries were part of empires. Some people disliked being ruled by people with different languages and religions, leading to conflict

Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo- The heir to the Austrian throne was murdered by Serbian nationalists. It sparked the declaration of war

Militarism- The building up of the country's military forces

Alliances- Agreements made between countries to join forces and support each other

Imperialism- Wanting to build up an empire

Nationalism- Having pride in your country and believing it is better than others, making nations more aggressive and assertive

Russia + France + Britain = Triple Entente

Germany + Austria + Italy = Triple Alliance

The alliances caused WW1 because with each country having the power behind them to fuel a war, the countries could all settle disputes between individuals in one fell blow. Knowing they had the support, countries were made more eager to assert their dominance and not hold back. If one country went to war, all the others were obliged to follow, and so the trigger (the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand) provoked war between Austria-Hungary and Serbia, who had an alliance with Russia, and then Italy and Germany and France and Britain were dragged in.