The Three Main Causes Of The First Great War

World War One, the global conflict that resulted in over 10 million deaths, the change of power in world politics and the collapse of European Empires, has numerous causes to it. The three main causes of the First Great War were the widespread idea of militarism, the start of a system of economic imperialism around the world, and the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. All these causes were significant and contributed to the increase of tension between countries, which built up over time and resulted in the outbreak of World War I. In the years previous to the war, European powers were building up on something crucial for a conflict: their military power. In the late 1800s, countries started to increase their rivalry on the size
A very prominent form of power at the time was to rule smaller countries, and therefore European powers invaded territories and made those their colonies.[ Dave Herron, 'Causes Of WW1'] That became a competition when the colonies turned out to be very profitable due to the fact they offered cheap labour and an abundance of raw materials they couldn’t find in their own country. Thus, nations that were able to gather many colonies, had these extra strengths and caused other countries to wish for the same. European nations then started competing with each other for which could gather more colonies, and that became known as imperialism. In the late 1800s, Britain had the largest imperial power, which included Canada, Hong Kong, Australia, India, South Africa, and many Pacific and Caribbean Island. France also had a major empire, ruling colonies in South America, Indochina, areas of West Africa, India and pacific Islands.[ Jennifer Llewellyn, 'Militarism As A Cause For World War I'] This caused other countries such as Germany, Austria Hungary, and Italy to start and build a colonial empire too. That way, imperialism caused conflicts in the territories that were conquered as well as between European nations that were continuously competing for more wealth in the form of colonies.[ Go Social Studies Go,
Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serb nationalist and student, shot and killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife. The Archduke was the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and as a political figure had many that opposed his ideas. Specifically, his murderer was part of a group called the Black Hand, which believed Serbia should be independent from Austria Hungary. The assassination was a main cause of war because after it happened, Austria Hungary demanded Serbia to punish whoever was responsible for the crime. However, Serbia failed to do so and this Austria Hungary declared war.[ 'Archduke Franz Ferdinand Assassinated', HISTORY.com, accessed 15 June 2015, http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/archduke-franz-ferdinand-assassinated.] This war was different than a simple conflict, because alliances were already formed at that time. That meant that since Serbia was an ally of the Allied powers (Great Britain, France, Russia and Italy), all of the Allied Powers also declared war on Austria Hungary. At the same time, it meant a declaration of War against the Central Powers (Germany, the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria).[ 'World War I: The Players', Mtholyoke.edu, accessed 15 June 2015, https://www.mtholyoke.edu/~raina20s/ww1/play.html.] Therefore, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand