Nationalism Was The Cause Of World War I

The time before 1914 was a time of unrest and small fighting between countries. As a cause of industrialization, countries had had to find new markets which were often in other countries. To gain the markets, the country had to take over the land. This policy of conquering and ruling other lands is called imperialism. By 1900, Britain had control in over five continents and France had control of large portions of Africa as a result of imperialism and felt that their military could not be beat. Once the country controlled a market, they could raise or lower the price of goods and control who traded there. These new rules helped increase tension and the countries controlling the market felt that they had the most power. In addition, while some
countries were conquering others, still other countries were rebelling against their leaders. Romania, Greece, Serbia, Bosnia, and Bulgaria wanted freedom, so they rebelled. Out of this, came the Treaty of Berlin. The Treaty of Berlin told which of those countries would go to either Russia or Austria-Hungary. This allowed the small countries to have a blanket of protection for their actions. All of these tensions and feelings of superiority about the country and the military power led to World War I. There were many causes of WWI, but the main three were militarism, nationalism, and alliances. One of the causes of World War I is militarism. Militarism is the pride in the desire of the country's ability to use the military. Before 1914, Britain’s main foreign threat was Germany. At the time, Germany wanted to build a fleet that was powerful enough to overcome Britain’s. Therefore, it became a naval race. Britain shows militarism in this aspect because the military members and leaders always believed they were better and that they would win. In an effort on land, both the countries had been in a race to build bigger and better warships but Britain believed they had the upper hand. This is an example of militarism because both countries-Britain and Germany- wanted to prove that their military was stronger and better. This is a cause of WWI because it fueled the countries to build better military fleets and to go into a naval war just to prove that one was stronger. This then inflated peoples’ egos to think that their military could not be bested, so going into war would prove that to everyone. Another motive for WWI was nationalism.
Nationalism is the loyalty and pride people feel for their country. In the years before 1914, nationalism would appear in the form of press or culture. In many European countries, the newspaper pages were packed full of rumors and rousing stories about other countries. The countries reading these papers then had the right to believe that their country was fair and without blame. The newspapers also carried rumors about the schemes and aggressiveness of the surrounding countries. It convinced many of the citizens of the plotting of other countries to invade their own. Nevertheless, newspapers were not the only form of nationalism occurring in European countries. There was also propaganda appearing in the culture, such as music and literature. In Britain, there was a popular patriotic song called “Rule, Britannia!”. It's lyrics included that “Britons never never will be slaves.” This helped to convince the citizens that their home country was the best and could never be conquered. In London, nationalism was being spread through literature. Cheap novels, short stories, and essays were published talking of future wars and invasions that were inevitably coming from German, Russian, and French forces. Lastly, in Germany, nationalism was used to build up the new nation and gain support from the public. All of German culture was bolstered and revered. With this culture stuffed into their faces, the German people were filled with a
feeling of superiority. As a consequence of all this nationalism being spread, all the countries were feeling superior to their neighbors. This helped World War I to start because all the citizens thought that their country was on top and the love they felt for their country was strong enough for them to be willing to fight and die because it ultimately helped their country. Finally, another cause for World War I was alliances.
There were many different alliances formed, but the main two were Great Britain, Russia, France, and independent states- known as the Triple Entente- and Germany, Ottoman Empire, Austria-Hungary, and Italy -known as the Triple Alliance. Although alliances help in war time, in times before war they were not as beneficial. They even helped cause World War I because it allowed smaller nations in alliances to behave carelessly. One example of this is the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and the effects it had. Franz Ferdinand was archduke of Austria-Hungary and was killed by a Serbian scholar. His assassination called Austria-Hungary to take up arms against Serbia. Considering Serbia had just been threatened by war it pulled into play alliances. Since Serbia was in the Triple Entente, all those countries were there to back them up. On the other hand, with Austria-Hungary being in the Triple Alliance, it pulled all of those countries into play. Seeing that there were alliances, what would've been a small, short lived war was suddenly blown into a world
war. World War I was a war fought because of militarism, nationalism, and alliances. Without just one of these, the war wouldn't have happened. World War I shows a rise and decline in great powers. With the growth of nationalism and militarism -great powers- people began to have pride in what their country stands for. As a result, people began to boast more and get in more fights with people from other countries. These great powers helped shape our world into how it is today. Without them, living life would not be the same.