How Did Imperialism Cause Ww1

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MWH 5 5/1/13
MAIN Causes of WWI: Intro+Imperialism+Nationalism

World War I was an event that caused almost 10 million deaths in Europe, therefore killing off almost a generation of Europeans. It ended empires in Russia, Germany, and
Austria Hungary and caused Russia to turn to communism and become a totalitarian state with Stalin in power. It created more rights for women, and changed the social perspective of life to gloomy and pessimistic. The Congress of Vienna of 1814, created a long lasting peace in Europe completed with regular peace meeting which proposed peaceful solutions to tensions between European nations. This peace was briefly interrupted with the Crimean war and Franco­ Prussian war, but generally, in Europe war was a thing of the past. As the 19th
century approached though, tensions began to rise in Europe, making Europe a “powder keg” that even a tiny spark could ignite into a world war. Though militarism can be seen as a contributing factor of WWI its was the power of nationalism, imperialism, and created alliances that caused WWI.
Imperialism can be seen as a leading cause of WWI because it created tension and competition between nations, helped the Balkan crisis, and truly made WWI a “world” war. In
Europe competition between nations was intense and many nations seeked to be the best and strongest. Imperialism was quite competitive between nations and caused increased tension in Europe. For example during the Crimean war Britain and France openly opposed
Russian imperialization. Britain and Russia also went to war over Afghanistan during the
“Great Game” because of Afghanistan’s geopolitical location. The rise of new nations such as
Germany and Italy during the 18th century also contributed to growing tensions because it created competition for the “old nations”. New nations saw imperialism as a great opportunity to legitimize their status in Europe, and this challenged the old nations such as Britain and
France. The Kruger telegram sent by the Germans to the Boers, for example, congratulated the Boers on opposing the Britain’s attempt to colonize them. This angered the British, who for quite a while had the goal of colonizing South Africa. When WIlhelm II visited Morocco, to support their opposition of French rule angered the French to the point where they were
even ready to go to war, and mobilized their army on the German border. Though these actions weren’t a direct cause of WWI they did cause the growth of tensions in Europe setting the stage ready for war.
Imperialism also directly caused WWI, for it caused the crisis in the
Balkan Peninsula. When Austria­ Hungary imperialized/annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina they did it because they feared the growth that was happening in the Balkan Peninsula. This imperialization angered the Serbs because the Austrians took away a large population of
Serbs. Later, in 1914, when the archduke of Austria was visiting Bosnia, he got shot by a member of the Secret Blackhand Committee, a committee dedicated to riding Bosnia of
Austrian rule. This enraged the Austrians and caused them to wage war on them, therefore sucking in all of Europe into a war that was the first total war. Finally, imperialism also made
WWI really a “world” war. Nations needed all the power they could get during the war, so many nations began to bring in their colonies to help them. Britain brought in their colonies

from India and South Africa, and France their colonies from Senegal, Egypt, Indochino.. and so on. Colonies were also seen as opportunities to weaken nations, as seen when the Allies attacked the German colonies in the Pacific Islands. Therefore, imperialism, can be seen as both a direct and indirect cause of WWI because it sparked the event in the Balkan
Peninsula but also created the connections that really made WWI a “world” war.
Nationalism can also be seen as a very main power that caused WWI because it created economic and territorial tension/ competition in Europe and fueled the Balkan crisis.
In Europe economic competition between nations was very strong and created a lot of tension. In the late 18th century Britain was ahead of all the European nations in output of manufactured goods, and Germany wasn’t even close. But, in the next 33 years Germany not only caught up with Britain, they gained the number one spot by 1%. This angered the British and caused them to feel challenged and in search of revenge. The pressure Germany felt to catch up also created tension in their nation. When the Treaty of Versailles was released, the
“war­guilt” clause was introduced which put sole responsibility of the war on Germany’s shoulders. It also required Germany to pay for all damage caused by the war to other nations.
This proves that Britain joined the war because they felt nationalistic pride and wanted to regain their number one spot in economic matters. Many nations also were motivated by nationalistic pride to join the war, such as France that joined the war because they wanted to gain back their territory in Alsace­Lorraine. Many other nations such as Italy, Japan, and
China also joined for this reason, in hopes of regaining the territories they lost, and bringing pride back to their nations. Therefore, nationalism fueled the joining of many nations into the war because it created competition and a hope for gaining lands. Nationalism was also a main cause of the Balkan crisis. The Serbs in the Balkan Peninsula were very nationalistic people, that were proud of their culture and didn’t want to be colonized by anyone. They rebelled a lot and created tension between them and the Austro­Hungarians. Therefore nationalism was the cause of a lot of tension in that region that caused it to be called the “powder­keg” of Europe.
Also when Austria­hungary declared war on the Serbs, Russia, possessing a large Serbian peninsula felt a nationalistic tie to them and therefore joined the war in order to protect them.
This set off the chain of events leading to the joining of Germany, then France, and Britain into the war. Nationalism can also be named one of the main causes of WWI because it fueled a lot of the other causes. Nationalism is the thirst of a nation to be great and better than others, and militarism and imperialism both embody this motive within themselves. In the end nationalism was definitely a leading cause in causing of WWI because it fueled competition and tension within European nations and helped the Balkan crisis.