The Causes of World War One Militarism Alliances Imperialism Nationalism

Introduction Conservative Robert Borden came to power in September 1911 Canada was riding a wave of prosperity and optimism Europe at the time was crackling with tension and rumors of war Britain declared war on Germany on August 4, 1914 As part of the British Empire Canada was automatically at war Level of participation was to be determined by the Canadian government

World War One The war was supposed to be a quick war, the men were to be home for Christmas War was viewed as a glorious adventure Men lined up for hours to volunteer for service overseas When the war finally ended in 1918, 60 000 Canadians didn’t return and 250 000 returned battle scarred Great powers used new technologies to create weapons of mass destruction World War One was also a period of maturation for Canada Entered the war as part of the British Empire and emerged a nation in its own right

Long Term Causes Imperialism Imperialism is the extension of one nation’s authority or control over other lands by economic, political or military means At the turn of the century, European nations were arguing over their possession of faraway colonies Colonies were of vital economic importance as places where European countries could secure raw materials and sell manufactured goods Britain had the largest empire with colonies in North America, Australia, Asia, Caribbean and Africa France occupied parts Africa and the Far East Russia held vast stretches of land across Northern Europe and Asia Germany had only a few colonies and wanted more, Britain was trying to prevent this

Long Term Causes cont… Nationalism Deep patriotism and loyalty to the home country was on the rise in Europe Fueled the race for larger and larger armies and navies Led to the drive for overseas colonies European powers were always eager for new territory on their continent to enhance the glory of the homeland

Long Term Causes cont… Militarism The policy of building up military forces and weaponry and threatening armed aggression In Britain and Germany it began when these two nations spent millions to build up their armies and navies and equip them with the latest weapons of war Germany had the most powerful army in Europe but Britain ruled the waters Britain pushed hard to keep its naval advantage over Germany. It developed a new class of warship called a dreadnought 1908 Germany began building its own dreadnoughts to challenge the British By 1914 Germany had 17 dreadnoughts and Britain had 29 dreadnoughts

Dreadnought

Long Term Causes cont… Alliances Great powers of Europe developed systems of alliances intended to keep the peace in Europe -war with any allied nation meant war with the whole alliance -this threat was intended to deter any aggression Tripe Entente: Great Britain, France, Russia Triple Alliance: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy Alliances had the effect of escalating the war very quickly as all of the great powers were drawn in to the war because of their alliances

Triple Alliance vs Triple Entente

The Immediate Cause

The Immediate Cause Assassination in Sarajevo – The “Spark” In June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary was assassinated by a terrorist group in Sarajevo The Black Hand was as Serbian terrorist group who want Serbian independence from Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary blamed the assassination on Serbia and declared war on Serbia Russia mobilized its army to defend Serbia Germany declared war on Russia France declared war on Germany

The Immediate Cause Germany declared war on France and moved to attack France through Belgium Great Britain had promised to protect Belgium (an officially neutral country) so, when Germany attacked Belgium they declared war on Germany Canada, as a member of the British Empire, was automatically at war