Why Did World War 1 Start

Introduction World War I. Everyone know about it, some people even know all lot about it. But what many people don’t know, are the reasons why it started. The most obvious and widely accepted reason of the start of the First World War, (also known as the Great War, especially pre-WWII) is the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. However, while this is still one the causes of World War I, it is certainly not the main one. The assassination of Franz Ferdinand was merely a spark to the already hot and blazing political atmosphere created by the the tensions between many of Europe’s great powers. Germany and Britain were in an arms race, as well as having an economic rivalry. Russia was trying to
Unfortunately this led to many countries across the world becoming consolidated into larger and more powerful empires such as India, Indonesia, Vietnam, and many African countries. Africa was especially a big target as it contained a vast number of raw materials and natural resources for the industrialized nations of Europe. Many European countries looked down upon the people of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, seeing them as lesser human beings who needed to be taught civilized ways of life by the superior Europeans. “As Europeans took over foreign lands, they viewed the culture of the native population to be inferior to their own. This concept became know as “The White Man’s Burden” after a popular poem by the same name was published by Rudyard Kipling in 1899.” (Caswell) This led to many of Europe’s countries colonizing countries to increase their own power and threaten its rivals. Britain had the most success, gaining territory in every continent, including Antarctica, including the impressive colonization of India, a civilization reaching back nearly 5 thousand years. This led to the Christopher North writing, “The sun never sets on the British Empire.” This quote was actually true which just shows how much land the British accumulated pre-World War I. As Britain started to gain more and more territory for its overseas empire, France, Germany, and other European nations also felt the need to get some territory. This led to a massive race of claiming land and conquering territory across the globe. “In 1800, Western industrialized powers controlled 35 percent of the world’s land surface; by 1914 they controlled 84 percent” (Springer’s). As countries got more