The Causes of the Great War

Road Map

• Explain and define Nationalism.• Explain and define Imperialism.• Explain and define Militarism.• Explain and define Alliances.• Explain the significance of the

assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.

To Help You Remember: MANIA

• Militarism• Alliances• Nationalism• Imperialism• Assassination of Archduke

Franz Ferdinand

Nationalism

• Extreme love for country; belief that one’s nation of people should have its own country and rule itself.

Question

• If you have an extreme love of your country, and you think your country’s way of doing things is better than everyone else’s, what should your country do?

Imperialism

• Conquering weaker countries and controlling them politically, socially economically.

Question

• What do countries have to do to protect their empires?

Militarism and Alliances

Militarism• Policy of

building up military forces to prepare for war.

Alliances• Agreements

between nations to aid and protect each other.

Alliances in Europe 1914

The Powder Keg of Europe: The Balkans

• All these issues came to a head in the Balkans region of Europe.

• Slavic nationalism played a major role; Slavic nationalists in Serbia believed Slavic people in Bosnia should be free from Austrian control.

• Serbia is allied with Russia because they share common Slavic heritage.

The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand• Franz

Ferdinand, heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, assassinated in Sarajevo (part of Bosnia) by Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian nationalist.

Result of the Assassination

• Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia.

• Russia declares war on Austria Hungary.

• Germany declares war on Russia.• Germany launched quick invasion

of France to knock them out of the fight; fails. Germany declared war on Belgium to get there.

• Britain declares war on Germany.