4 Indirect Causes of World War One

World War One: 1914‐1918
World War One was known as “The Great War”
Causes of World War One
Direct Cause (immediate):
‐specific event and/or series of events that led to the outbreak of fighting
Direct Cause of World War One:
Indirect Cause (long range)
‐developments, events, etc. that occur over a longer period of time that create the conditions in which war is possible
‐Indirect Causes of World War One:

Feb 3­8:06 AM

1) Alliances
‐alliance: agreement between countries to work together in the event of war, formed to protect each other against common enemies ‐European countries formed alliances:
a) Triple Entente: Britain, France, Russia
b) Triple Alliance: Austria‐Hungary, Germany, Italy
‐alliances were dangerous because they increased fear and suspicion, and any war that did start would likely involve many countries.

Feb 6­11:17 AM

Imperialism
imperialism: is a policy of controlling lands in other regions of the world as colonies, building an empire
‐having an empire gave country political and economic power
‐countries competed to gain territory overseas or in Europe Examples:
‐Britain, France, Russia, US, had empires but Germany didn’t, only territory left was in Africa and the Pacific (not valuable)
‐Austria‐Hungary had annexed Bosnia and Bosnia was unhappy under A‐H rule

Feb 6­12:11 PM

The Indirect Causes of
World War One
Using Spotlight Canada pages 66‐68 make a note on the 4 Indirect Causes of World War One. You should:
‐state the cause
‐give a definition
‐explain how the cause led to World War One

Feb 3­8:14 AM

Nationalism
‐nationalism: a feeling of deep loyalty to one’s country; usually feel superior to others
‐many European countries were extremely nationalistic
‐were willing to take any action to help their own country, even start wars to promote the interests of their own country
Examples:
‐Bosnia disliked being a province in Austria‐Hungary and being under their control ‐ wanted to join Serbia
‐Austria‐Hungary didn’t want any group to break away from their empire
‐Gavrilo Princip had such nationalism he was willing to resort to terrorism

Feb 6­11:37 AM

Militarism
militarism: the belief that the building up of arms and navies will:
a) prevent war by making other countries afraid and
b) if war did occur the country could protect itself
‐this kind of thinking led to an ‘arms race’, where countries in both alliances built up their armies and navies
‐this caused fear and suspicion in Europe
Example
‐Germany was building a huge navy, which challenged Britain’s supremacy at sea