the causes of wwi

22
The Causes of WWI

Upload: buffy

Post on 14-Feb-2016

26 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

DESCRIPTION

The Causes of WWI. Nationalism. All ethnic groups in Europe were nationalistic ( extremely proud of their culture and heritage ). France wanted to start a war with Germany because it had lost two provinces ( Alsace and Lorraine ) in its last war against Germany. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: The Causes of WWI

The Causes of WWI

Page 2: The Causes of WWI

NationalismAll ethnic groups in Europe were nationalistic (extremely proud of their culture and heritage).

France wanted to start a war with Germany because it had lost two provinces (Alsace and Lorraine) in its last war against Germany.

“Pan-Slavism” was spreading in Russia and Serbia. This was the belief that all Slavs should be united into one country. This was obviously going to create problems between Russia / Serbia and all other countries with Slavs living within their boundaries.

Ethnic groups living within crumbling empires wanted to break away and form their own countries.

Austria-Hungary was ethnically and religiously divided – all these groups wanted independence.

Page 3: The Causes of WWI

Germany had taken Alsace and Lorraine from France after a war in 1871.

Page 4: The Causes of WWI

Slavic nations in Europe

Page 6: The Causes of WWI

Imperialism (Colonization)

The Great Powers (Britain, France, Germany...) wanted to acquire as many colonies as possible.

Colonies would ensure access to resources and a market for all the goods produced in the home country.

Result: There was increasing competition for colonies in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

Problem: Germany had had the most powerful military and economy, but very few colonies!

Page 7: The Causes of WWI

Colonial Empires in 1900

Page 8: The Causes of WWI

Alliances

European powers had been divided into two allied camps:

The Triple Alliance or Central Powers(Germany, Italy, Austria-Hungary)

The Triple Entente or Allied Powers(Britain, France, Russia)

This made war more likely because now they all knew that they had “backup”.

Page 10: The Causes of WWI
Page 11: The Causes of WWI
Page 12: The Causes of WWI
Page 13: The Causes of WWI

Lack of Fear

In 1914, most people were not afraid of war.

Most believed that a war would be short, and that victory for their side was a certainty.

Page 14: The Causes of WWI

Arms Race (Militarism)The division into two allied camps led to an arms race.

All Great Powers adopted universal conscription, creating large reserves of manpower.

Plans of attack had already been drafted.

Armies and navies had been expanded tremendously.

Both sides were expanding their armed forces in order to maintain the balance of power.

Example: The French and German armies doubled in size between 1871 and 1914.

Example: There was a naval competition between Britain and Germany as a result of the building of the first Dreadnought. This type of ship was so powerful that it made all older ships obsolete.

Page 15: The Causes of WWI

The Dreadnought

Page 16: The Causes of WWI
Page 17: The Causes of WWI

So how did WWI actually begin?In 1908, Austria-Hungary annexed a region named Bosnia. This was a problem because Bosnia was populated by Slavs, including many Serbs.

Result: The Russians and the Serbs were very upset.

A terrorist organization called “The Black Hand” was formed . Its goal was to cause a war so that Bosnia could be taken over by Serbia.

In 1914, the Austrian Archduke (heir to the throne), Franz Ferdinand, decided to tour the capital of Bosnia, Sarajevo, with his wife.

The members of the Black Hand decided that this was the time to act. They planned to assassinate the Archduke during his tour of Sarajevo!

Page 18: The Causes of WWI

Bosnia: Right between Serbia and Austria-Hungary

Page 20: The Causes of WWI
Page 21: The Causes of WWI

The arrest of Gavrilo Princip

Page 22: The Causes of WWI

Causes of WWI - Summary

• Nationalism• Imperialism (Colonization)• Alliances• Lack of fear• Arms race (Militarism)• Finally, the assassination of Archduke Franz

Ferdinand