M ilitarism A lliances I mperialism N ationalism MAIN CAUSES OF WWI

Militarism the build up of military strength; belief in a strong armed forces Arms Race New weapons capable of killing on a large scale Flamethrowers, grenades, tanks, machine guns, mortars Germany and Britain both expanded their navies France, Britain, Russia, Germany, Italy, Austria…all competed to build the biggest, most advanced military DISCUSSION QUESTION: Why would an increase in the military size and strength of the most powerful countries increase the chance of a large scale war? MAIN CAUSES: MILITARISM

Alliances a pact or friendship between two or more groups (in our case countries) Triple Entente: Britain, France, Russia Triple Alliance: Germany, Italy, Austria-Hungary If one country is attacked, the other countries agree to back them up DISCUSSION QUESTION: Why would alliances that are created between the countries increase the chances of a World War to break out? MAIN CAUSES: ALLIANCES

Imperialism expanding the power of one’s country by acquiring new territories, often by force European countries controlled undeveloped lands for cultural (religion, language) and economic (resources) power Britain, France and Belgium had already established empires in Africa and Asia Germany started late and was competing for limited countries to colonize DISCUSSION QUESTION: Why do you think imperialism led to increased tension between the major European nations MAIN CAUSES: IMPERIALISM

Nationalism the love of one’s country, strong patriotic beliefs People with similar language, history and culture came together to form strong empires People believed that loyalty to their nation was the most important thing Nationalism was strengthened through militarism (people proud of their strong military) and imperialism (build of a nation’s empire) People willing and excited to fight and die for their country DISCUSSION QUESTION: Explain how having strong patriotic beliefs can lead to an increased chance of war? MAIN CAUSES: NATIONALISM