Historical Context  Europe was a number of sovereign nation-states, but culturally very unified  Similar food, clothing, arts and entertainment, architecture  Most nation-states were monarchies of some kind; only France and Portugal were republics

 Germany, France, and Britain dominated the world:  Controlled about 80% of the world’s inhabited surface  Possessed half of the world’s industrial might  Merchants controlled half the world’s international trade  National groups expressed their nationalism loudly  Poles, Ukrainians, Croatians, Serbs, Czechs  After 1871 (Germany’s unification), there was a general agreement that the political boundaries were fixed  no coveting a neighbor’s land  Arms/Military race

Two solid alliance blocks: Germany and Austria-Hungary Britain, France, and Russia

So how does it start?  Serbian nationalist assassinates A-H Archduke Ferdinand  Austria made demands on Serbia  Russia mobilized to back Serbian ally  Germany mobilized to stand by Austria  France and Britain mobilized to stand by Russia  Germany invaded France to try to knock it out of the war but got bogged down on Western Front

How does it turn into a WORLD WAR?  The involvement of European countries with their own colonies and other countries in Africa, Asia, and America made this a world war  British block supplies to Central Powers  Uses imperial resources, manpower  Indians deployed in many areas  French  Use African troops  Japan  Fights Germans in China, the Pacific

 Ottomans  Side with Germany  Armenian genocide  United States  Begins neutral  German submarines attack American shipping  1917, enter war

A Modern War  Modernity had brought nationalism and popular participation in government  Whole peoples could be mobilized to fight  Industrialization allowed for mass production and transportation of goods  Huge numbers of repeating rifles, machine guns, artillery, ammunition, uniforms, trucks, food, poison gas, tanks, submarines, fighting aircraft

Failed Peace  Peace of Paris: Treaty of Versailles  German war guilt  Reparations to Britain and France  Austria-Hungary  Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia  Poland independent  League of Nations formed

Africa During World War I

The Middle East After World War I

Consequences  Arabs and Jews given conflicting assurances  Balfour Declaration  Growth of Zionism  Europe’s global position undermined  Map of Europe changes  9 new countries  Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Poland, Finland, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Hungary, and Austria  Some nationalist groups still exist and demand independence

Consequences  Europe begins to lose economically to rivals  Much of Europe lay in ruins  Resistance movements gain strength  Often assisted by Russia  Huge loss of life and property

Europe 1920