History Brief: The Causes of World War I
History Brief: The Causes of World War I
This video gives a brief description of the four main causes of World War I: Imperialism, Militarism, Nationalism, and alliances.
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Content
2.8 -> On July 28, 1914, one of the most
destructive wars in all of history began.
10.32 -> Which countries were involved? What
were the major causes of the conflict?
17.12 -> In the years before World War I, four factors
contributed to the animosity and tension in
23.2 -> Europe: nationalism, imperialism, militarism,
and a complicated system of alliances.
35.04 -> In the previous century, nationalism played an
important role in shaping the politics of Europe.
42.24 -> Nationalism is an intense devotion to or
identification with one's nation and culture.
50.08 -> Such attitudes created hyper-competitive rivalries
between powerful countries in the region.
57.76 -> The unification of Germany in 1871 intensified the
situation. As a newly unified country, it hoped to
67.36 -> prove itself on the world stage. Italy, which
also fully unified in 1871, contributed to this
75.68 -> as well. In contrast, Great Britain, France,
and Russia had long, storied histories. They
86.16 -> had dominated the region for centuries and saw
the emergence of Germany as an immediate threat.
95.76 -> In other parts of Europe, numerous
ethnic groups had long-simmering
100 -> resentment from being controlled by others. Many
hoped for independent countries of their own,
107.28 -> and some depended on larger, more
powerful nations for protection.
113.52 -> A bitter rivalry arose between Russia
and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
119.92 -> Russia considered itself the protector of Europe's
Slavic peoples, but the Austro-Hungarian Empire
126.8 -> ruled over millions of ethnic Slavs.
It also actively sought to expand its
134.16 -> influence in the Balkans, particularly
in Serbia, home to 3.5 million Slavs.
143.28 -> Austria-Hungary's dominion over the Balkans
was an example of imperialism. Imperialism
151.68 -> is the practice of a country extending political,
economic, or military control over other peoples.
160.88 -> For centuries, the powers of Europe had grown
wealthy by building colonies around the world.
168.08 -> These colonies provided resources such
as lumber and gold, and they also opened
173.6 -> markets for the sale of manufactured goods. As
Germany began to emerge as a dominant power,
181.44 -> it sought to compete with France and Great
Britain by establishing colonies as well.
189.2 -> Germany also began a massive military
buildup. This forced France and Great
195.04 -> Britain to do the same. France and Britain
had always maintained large militaries to
200.96 -> defend their empires, but the process of
militarism accelerated in the late 1800s.
208.72 -> Militarism is the practice of
maintaining a strong military
212.88 -> and being prepared to use it aggressively
to defend or promote national interests.
222.16 -> By 1890, Germany had the most powerful army
in Europe. It expanded on this in 1897,
229.92 -> when Kaiser Wilhelm, Germany's leader, announced
a drastic increase in spending on the navy. This
237.6 -> forced Great Britain, who relied on their navy
for defense, to strengthen their forces as well.
245.28 -> To keep pace, France, the United States,
Japan, and Italy all followed suit.
253.6 -> A complicated system of alliances
added to the tensions of the era.
258.88 -> Each country attempted to maintain
agreements with numerous other nations,
264 -> but by 1907, two key defensive
alliances had formed.
269.92 -> France, Great Britain, and Russia formed the
Triple Entente. By the end of the First World War,
278.64 -> Russia would drop out of the alliance,
and other countries would join.
284.64 -> Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy
countered with the Triple Alliance.
292.16 -> Italy would later leave the pact,
and the Ottoman Turks would join.
297.44 -> During the war to come, this alliance
would be known as the Central Powers.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8n3EEhufe7c