World War I was one of the most destructive conflicts ever to ravage humanity. And what makes it even more terrible was that unlike World War II, it was not a war that needed to be fought in order to preserve freedom, democracy, or a way of life. World War I was primarily of war fought due to imperialist aims, poor execution concerning preserving the balance of power in Europe, rampant nationalistic spirit, and ham-fisted cultural purposes. This article will give you a brief look at the major causes of World War I.
First we will examine economic causes. Although industrial capitalism had become a reigning business practice during the Industrial Revolution, traditionalist mercantilist economics still prevailed with regard to state economics. Mercantilism is the idea that there is a set amount of wealth in the world and in order to increase your wealth, you need to take someone else’s. Mercantilism goes hand in hand with imperialism. In order to get access to cheap raw materials needed for expanding industry in the nineteenth century, countries began to scramble all over the earth for regions they could control. Nowhere was this more apparent then in Africa. By the end of the nineteenth century, all of Africa was under foreign control with the exception of two states. Liberia, a tiny colony on Africa’s west coast was a refuge for freed slaves and was able to resist takeover by the British or French. The other free country was Ethiopia. Ethiopia was able to reflect and attack made by the recently unified Italy, a country that wanted to keep up with England and France. Italy’s failure allowed Ethiopia to remain independent. As for the rest of Africa, Britain controlled regions to the north, east, west, and south, and France controlled areas of the north and west. Belgium controlled the central regions of the African Congo.
One of the specific causes for the race for colonies had to do with the changing nature of military and trading vessels. Steamships were replacing wooden ships with sails during the course of the nineteenth century. These ships ran on coal which fueled the furnaces, which in turn boiled water needed for steam power. The problem was that ships could only store a certain amount of coal in their cargo holds. Thus, the need for coal refueling stations along trade routes became indispensable. In addition to pursuing colonies for raw materials, European nations began to selectively impose their will over nations that could provide convenient refueling stations or military bases. The use of Pacific Islands for these stations and bases is a good example.
Another of the causes of World War I had to do with social movements. Imperialism was also fueled in many countries by nationalist feeling, particularly in Germany and Italy. Prior to the 1860s, Italy was a patchwork of independent principalities or regions controlled by Austria. Prior to 1871, Germany was also a collection of independent states and principalities. However, nationalist fervor and a desire for a unified country drove these regions to unite through warfare. With a newly unified country, German and Italian peoples wanted to exert their greatness on the global scene. A good means to an end of greatness was to create a respectable empire constructed of colonies. Imperialism was often justified through cultural reasons. For example, Britain believed that it was the country’s duty to “civilize” barbaric or savage cultures in Africa and Asia. Rudyard Kipling’s famous idea of the “white man’s burden” sums up this world view. Russia also used cultural reasons to justify its pressure on the Balkans and Austria in the early twentieth century. The Russian Czar Nicholas II wished to pursue what was called “pan-Slavism” or an attempt to unite all Slavic-speaking people under the leadership of the Czar. However, what Nicholas most wanted in the Balkans was access to a warm-water port in the Black Sea that wouldn’t freeze over in the wintertime. Pan-Slavism was just a means to an end.
Imperialist desires had the adverse effect of stimulating arms races between the major powers in Europe at the time (late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries). Germany, wishing to challenge Britain for dominance of the oceans, began a comprehensive program of naval arms building. Britain responded by ramping up its own naval funding in order to counter the threat Germany potentially posed to its overseas investments. These arms races were affected by the new military/industrial complex that had formed in the nineteenth century and would result in the first wide-scale industrial war.
Political causes were certainly present as well. The rush for colonies created a problem for the balance of power in Europe. Since Napoleon’s defeat in 1815, European leaders attempted to find a way of making sure that no one power became a superpower and threatened the hegemony of European powers as a whole. The problem was that imperialism made this a very difficult proposition, and many countries secretly had an eye on the position of “leader of Europe.” Germany’s entrance into Europe as a unified, militarily powerful, and industrially powerful country disrupted all previous conceptions of the balance of power. Something needed to be done in order to stop Germany from taking control of the continent. And unfortunately, the European nations picked one of the worst possible means to achieve this.
This brings another category of causes for World War I, and that is international relations. Desire to preserve the balance of power and individual interests drove the major powers of Europe to enter into a tangled system of alliances with other countries. These were mutual defense alliances which stated that if one of the member countries was attacked, then the others within the alliance would come to the aid. This, however did not bode well when there were two distinct alliance systems that were eventually forged just prior to the outbreak of World War I. Germany forged ties with Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire while Britain formed ties with France, Russia, and eventually Italy (Italy had initially thrown its hat in with Germany). Thus, nearly all of the major powers of Europe were entangled in a web of war obligation which meant that one spark could embroil the entire continent in a brutal conflict. And yes, this is what happened.
So what were some more immediate causes of World War I? Well, one of the causes was Russia’s interest in the Balkans. Czar Nicholas II’s desire to unite all Slavic-speaking people (ie: get a warm water port on the Black Sea) was in direct opposition with Austria-Hungary’s interests in the Balkans. Austria-Hungary both wanted to keep Russia out and to keep the intensely nationalistic fervor of the Balkans under control in order to preserve its monarchial form of government. Furthermore, Britain’s arms race with Germany was reaching an apex right before the outbreak of the War. The stage was set for a particular event to throw Europe into chaos.
That event came in 1914 when a young Serbian national decided to assassinate the Austrian Archduke Ferdinand when he was traveling through the Balkan kingdom of Serbia. Austria-Hungary demanded retribution, and as a result of that country’s declaration of war on Serbia, Russia mobilized its army to protect its interests. Since Germany had pledged to support Austria-Hungary, it declared war on Russia after an ultimatum was issued. Germany’s subsequent decision to invade France through Belgium brought France, Britain, and Italy into the War. World War I had begun.
This is just a survey of some of the causes that led to the outbreak of one of the most destructive conflicts ever waged. There are plenty of good works out there on World War I, feel free to indulge yourself with a very interesting and pivotal moment in world history.
