Causes of World War 1

1. Imperialism

1.1. Britain was the most powerful colony at the start of the 20th century

1.2. Britain controlled many countries such as Canada, India, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, South Africa and Egypt

1.3. The British Empire was spread across about one quarter of the globe. There was a slogan which said, “The sun never sets on Britain".

2. Militarism

2.1. Military spending increased in the years leading up the war. Over 85% of men in in France and 50% of men in Germany had served in the army or navy.

2.2. In 1880 Germany had 88,000,000kg of military shipping, Britain 650,000,000 by 1910 the figures were 964,000 and 2,174,000 respectively.

2.3. Between the year 1890 and 1913, Britain increased their military spending by 117%, France by 92%, Russia by 19%, Germany by 158% and Austria Hungary increased their spending by 160%

3. Individual

3.1. A Bosnian nationalist named Gavrilo Princip shot and killed Franz Ferdinand, the future heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary

3.2. This is what most people would say started World War I

4. Alliances

4.1. There was two alliances Named the Triple Entente and The Triple Alliance

4.2. The three colonies that made up the Triple Entente where, Russia, France and Britian. Russia and France had an Alliance but Russia and France had a treaty with Britian

4.3. The three colonies that made up the Triple Alliance where, Italy, Germany and Austria-Hungary

4.4. There was also two other parties that played a role in the war, Bulgaria-Serbia and The Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire had an alliance with the Triple Alliance and aid support with Bulgaria-Serbia. Bulgaria-Serbia provided aid support to Russia, Austria- Hungary and The Ottoman Empire.

5. Nationalism

5.1. Nationalism was when countries placed interested in only there own country. This lead to countries fighting to be the most powerful in the military and economically.

5.2. Nationalism gave citizens confidence in their nation, government and military strength

5.3. Nationalism also made citizens believe their country was threatened by their rival countries.