Causes of World War I

Essay by ceyhanHigh School, 10th grade September 2004

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What were the main causes of WWI?

The Great War is known for its great deal of casualties, and also for its complex initiation. There have been numerous arguments about what actually caused the world war, however there has never been a conclusion that everyone accepts. Before 1930, most historians agreed that the first world war was initiated by Germany, and Germany's rapid expansion. After 1930, historians started to look back at events that happened 100 years before the war, that could have initiated it. Also they started to believe that it was because of the fight over the Balkans in the 1970s. As a matter of fact, the first world war was initiated by a cocktail of two ingredients. These ingredients were the sudden rush of imperialism (german), and the rapid expansion of Germany. This creates a threatening power, Germany, wanting to expand and get even more powerful.

Starting from 1880 all the way to the beginning of WWI (1914), there was a sudden rush of imperialism throughout the European countries. Historians called it 'the scramble for Africa' which explains the nature of this conflict. European countries such as Germany, Britain, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, and Italy wanted a piece of the beautiful fruity land of Africa. They did this because they realized that the only way they can gain power without starting war with another strong power, was to steal it from other helpless countries. It was like taking candy from a baby, all these countries had a meeting and drew the borders for their new territory. The already existing tension between Germany and Britain rose a great deal because of arguments of these borders, and also because of Germany's sudden imperialist ideas. Britain wanted to maintain their overwhelming economic supremecy, therefore they wouldn't want Germany or...