Austria-Hungary Empire Flag World War 1: 1914-1918 Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire with his wife Sophie

Europe in 2017

Europe before World War 1 Triple Alliance: German Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, Italian Empire Triple Entente: British Empire, French Empire, Russian Empire

Causes of WW 1: #1 - Imperialism Imperialism – the act of one country acquiring dominance (and sometimes ownership) of another country or region.

Causes of World War 1: #1 - Imperialism A world of Empires British Empire (the sun never sets) French Empire (strong in Africa and Indochina) Russian Empire (doing well… for now…) Austro-Hungarian Empire (struggling to survive) Ottoman Empire (dying a slow, painful death) German Empire (only 40 years old)

Causes of World War 1: #1 - Imperialism Britain and France had successful empires; Germany did not. When Germany decided it wanted to build an empire, this produced conflict. In addition… Britain and France had already taken most of the good stuff. Germany HAD acquired military and industrial strength and decided to proceed aggressively, which caused concern for the other great powers.

The Scramble for Africa

Other Imperial Desires Russia: Most of their ports freeze in winter. The Black Sea (in the Balkans) is warm. Let’s get some territory there! Oh wait… A-H also wants to get territory there…

Causes of World War 1: #2 - Militarism The early 1900’s was an era of military competition between Europe’s major powers. Militarists believed that war was a good way to advance a countries interests. Examples: All men aged 18-60 were fully trained for war in these countries: Britain, France, Italy, Russia, Germany

Causes of World War 1: #2 - Militarism “Two-Power Standard” British policy of making sure their navy was always bigger than the next 2 largest navies combined This caused an… Arms Race Germany had the strongest land-army, and then tried to build a bigger navy than Britain. Britain built dreadnoughts (but this one is French) Germany built them too. Britain built more. Then Germany built more too. Etc… Balance of Power All the countries had to continue building larger and larger militaries to avoid becoming weak

Causes of World War 1: #3 - Nationalism Nationalism – A patriotic loyalty among people who have common bonds of language, culture, and tradition. Moreover, a desire to have political control over their own affairs.

Nationalism Nationalism was a cause of the war in two ways… 1. Nationalism as evident in the actions of the major powers. Example: Germany wanted to acquire an empire. Example: France wanted revenge for the Franco-Prussian war. Example: Great Britain had pride in their imperial accomplishment and wanted to defend who they were.

Poor Ottoman Empire  This area of Europe is called “The Balkans”. IDK why. The Ottoman empire controlled all of the Balkans until about 1750 Since then, they slowly lost more and more as the empire declined The “lost” territories became independent countries, or “nations” 1913, they lost everything except Turkey Nationalist movements in those territories were a major factor

Nationalism 2. The Austro-Hungarian Empire struggled, especially after they invaded and took over Bosnia in 1913. Many minority groups were ruled over by the empire. After A-H invaded and took over Bosnia, the Bosnians, but also many other minorities in A-H, got really angry and started protesting “The Black Hand” terrorist/nationalist group (like the FLQ) The Austro-Hungarian Empire believed that in order to survive they needed to repress the minorities.

Causes of World War 1: #4 - Alliances Triple Alliance (Central Powers) – Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy agreed to support each other if attacked. Triple Entente (Allied Powers) – France, Russia, and Britain loosely agreed to support each other if attacked.