The Origins Of The Wwi

The origins of the WWI

The Main Economic & Social Trends 1. Population growth—  Europe’s population increased from 226 million to 468 million 2. Industrialization  Western and northern Europe were far more industrialized than eastern and southern Europe  By 1914 Germany had overtaken Britain in coal and iron production  Europe’s share of world manufacturing output was decreasing

The Main Economic & Social Trends 3. Urbanization  As industry grew, towns and cities grew, too 4. Communication improved  Railways, trams and steamships were increasingly available  Automobiles were produced by 1890’s  By 1914, aero planes were also available

The Main Economic & Social Trends 5. Trade  International trade grew rapidly 6. Education and Women status  Both education and women status improved 7.Agriculture  Agriculture improved less especially in Southern Europe

The main Political Trends 1. Political system  Although there were some republics, most European countries still had monarch  Emperors in Germany, Austria and Russia had great power  Many wealthy elites, held important positions in the government, army and civil service

The main Political Trends 1. Political system  Most countries in Europe had a parliament in 1900, Finland and Norway even allowed women to vote  However, not all people favoured parliament system  The right wing believed it led to weak government. The left wing attacked politicians for not representing the common people

The main Political Trends 1.   2. 

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Political system The size of the government grew. The greatest expenditure of most states still went on the armed forces Political ideas Liberalism decline. The concept of parliamentary rule, civil liberties and free trade faded out New extreme forces emerged

The main Political Trends 2. Political ideas  Most government set out to promote a sense of national identity to combat the destabilising politics and socialism  A growing interest of race led numbers of academics to try to define race and categories racial characteristics  The racism tendency also led to the idea of Social Darwinism

The main Political Trends 3. Anti-Semitism  Anti-Semitism feeling was strong in many places in eastern Europe including Russia, because there was a large Jewish population  Scholars and artists made anti-Semitism fashionable and respectable in Germany and western Europe

The main Political Trends 4. The rise of Socialism and Communism  The late 19th century was greatly influenced by Karl Marx  His great work, Das Kapital, thought that all history was the history of class struggles  There will be a classless society and all means of production will be owned by the public

The main Political Trends 5. The anarchist threat  The anarchist oppose all traditional forms of government. The ideal form of society will be small communities running their own affairs with little or no central administration  They tended to use terrorist mean to reach their ends

Growth of Nationalism   

Nationalism was high in all European countries. It developed into expansion and imperialism at the end of the 19th century The desire of subject peoples to get independence or a people’s demand to establish a cultural unity by 4 major movements:

Growth of Nationalism 1. The Greater Serbian Movement  It was led by Serbia. Serbia was ruled by the Turks and gained her independence in 1878.  Serbian policy between 1903 and 1914 sought the ‘liberation’ of the Serb peoples still under the rule of the Austria-Hungary and Turkey

Growth of Nationalism 2. Pan-Slav Movement  It was a movement emphasizing Russia’s historic mission to liberate the Slav peoples of southeast Europe from the Ottoman and Habsburg Empires and to secure their union under Russian control and protection  The movement led to : 4. The Russo-Turkish War in 1877 5. The rivalries between Russia and Austria over the Balkans

Growth of Nationalism 3. Pan –German Movement  It advocated the expansion of Germany to unite all of the German speaking people in Europe, and even to establish a large colonial empire in the Balkans and Western Asia  It intensified the Russo-German conflicts over the Balkans and made Germany support Austria unconditionally

Growth of Nationalism 4. Revenge of France on Germany  France was defeated by Prussia in 1871 and forced France to cede Alsace-Lorraine to Germany. It was a great hurt to French national pride  It created bad feelings between France and Germany and complicated the European diplomacy

Role of nationalism in the outbreak of WWI 1. In order to obtain national glory and greatness, the powers had to acquire colonies , to make more arms and to empower with more allies 2. It also directly or indirectly led to the Moroccan Crises , the Bosnian Crisis, the Balkan wars and the Sarajevo Crisis

Colonial and Economic Rivalry  2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Reasons: Economic motivation Security Nationalism Humanitarian Concerns Accident

Colonial and Economic Rivalry 1. Economic Rivalries between Britain and Germany  Britain was the most powerful industrial state. But after 1870 Germany achieved much in her industries  The rise of German economic strength made the German demand political and territorial prestige. Rivalries between Germany and Britain resulted

Colonial and Economic Rivalry Britain and Germany  Before 1890, , Germany under Bismarck was unwilling to acquire colonies  Kaiser William II adopted a new policy  He supported the Dutch against Britain in the Boer Wars(1899-1902)  Germany’s support to Austria in Balkan aroused Britain’s suspicion

Colonial and Economic Rivalry 2. Economic Rivalries between other powers  France and Germany rivalries over Morocco  Russia and Germany rivalries over Turkey  These rivalries caused bad feelings between powers

Colonial and Economic Rivalry 3. Colonial rivalry between Britain and France  They struggled over Egypt, China and S. E. Asia  In 1898, a crisis in Angle-French relations occurred in Fashoda in Sudan. Eventually, France gave in  By 1904, Anglo-French colonial conflicts settled peacefully

Colonial and Economic Rivalry 4. Germany and France  France actively expanded in Africa and in the Far East to compensate for her loss after the FrancoPrussian War  Germany under Bismarck encouraged it so as to divert French vengeance  However, under Kaiser William II, Franco-German colonial rivalries began  The most important events were the two Moroccan Crises

Colonial and Economic Rivalry  The most important events were the two Moroccan Crises  The First Moroccan Crisis (1905-06)  The Second Moroccan Crisis (1911)  Germany made concessions in both crises  The Crises in Morocco strengthened the AngloFrench Entente  Having been frustrated for 2 times, Germany decided to strengthen herself before she provoked some other incidents

Colonial and Economic Rivalry 5. France and Italy  Franco-Italian rivalry occurred in Tunisia  By the Treaty of Bardo (1881), Tunisia became a French protectorate  Being Upset by the French activity, the Italian allied with Germany and Austria in 1882

Colonial and Economic Rivalry 6. Russia and Austria  Austria wanted to expand towards the Balkan area  The expansion of Austria was contradicted to Russia’s ambition in the area  Serbia, who was supported by Russia, became a bitter enemy of Austria

The Alliance System 1. Bismarck’s Nightmare  Bismarck defeated France in 1871 and took Alsace and Lorraine caused longlasting enmity between France and Germany  In order to prevent French revenge, Bismarck made friends with the other European powers to isolate France

The Alliance System 2. The Dreikaiserbund (1872)  It was signed by Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia in Berlin in 1872  They agreed to maintain the state-system of Europe as it stood in 1871 and to find a settlement for the problems in the Balkans  It was not an alliance but it was an important attempt to retain Russian friendship

The Alliance System 3. The Dual Alliance (1879)  As the rivalries between Russia and Austria became severe in the Balkans, Bismarck could only choose one of them as ally  He chose Austria since she was weaker than Russia and there were also plenty of room for future expansion in the Balkans  They agreed that to help each other when one of them were attacked by Russia or countries supported by Russia

The Alliance System 4. The Triple Alliance  Italy joined Germany and Austria because she had disputes with France in Tunis  The signatories agreed to help each other if they were attacked by France or by two or more countries  However, Italy were not a devoted signatory as France had been her best friend

The Alliance System 5. The Dual Alliance (between France And Russia), 1895  Russia-Germany dying out after the Reinsurance Treaty lapsed in 1890  Kaiser William II ignored Russia and made no efforts to maintain friendly relations with Russia  The French loans provided to Russia won RussoFrench friendship  The new Czar, Nicholas II held different view towards France

The Alliance System  Contents of the Alliance: 2. Russia would support France if the latter was attacked by Germany, or Italy with German assistance 3. France would support Russia if the latter was attacked by Germany , or Austria with the help of Germany 4. If one or more of the member of the Triple Alliance mobilized, France or Russia would mobilized

The Alliance System 6. The Entente Cordiale (between Britain and France), 1904  Britain ended her isolation policy at the end of 19th century. In 1902, Britain concluded the Anglo-Japanese Alliance  As the strength of Germany developed, Britain felt the threat of the growing Germany

The Alliance System After Queen Victoria died in 1901, AngloGerman relation turned worse  Britain turned to France and an Entente Cordiale between Britain and France was reached in 1904  The contents: 4. Britain recognized French influence in Morocco 5. France recognized Britain influence in Egypt 

The Alliance System 7. The Triple Entente Britain and Russia drawing closer because:  Russia Supported France and Britain in the Moroccan Crisis in 1905-06  The German Berlin-Baghdad railway project alarmed both Russia and Britain  In Turkey, German officers were invited to reorganize the Turkish army displease both Britain and Russia

The Alliance System  Britain and Russia conflicts diminished after Russo-Japanese. Being defeated by Japan, Russia would not be a threat to Britain anymore  France drew Britain and Russia together

The Alliance System  Britain and Russia settled their disputes in 1907 in the area of Tibet, Afghanistan and Persia  With the Entente Cordiale between France and Britain, the French-Russo Dual Alliance and the understanding between Britain and Russia, the Triple Entente formed  There was no promise of military assistance on either side, but Europe was now divided into two armed camps

Armaments Race  When military alliance appeared in Europe, the power began to increase their standing army  Army increased in number, and was upgraded training and equipment  There were also Naval armaments race especially between Germany and Britain  War plans were made, e.g, Schlieffen Plan

Armaments Race  From 1899 to 1914, Russian and French armies rose form 1,400,000 to 2,240,000  Germany and Austria increased their armies from 1,000,000 to 1,240,000  Before 1914, all powers except Britain, adopted 1 to 3 years’ compulsory conscription and universal military training  Funds were increased to upgrade the equipments and weapons

Armaments Race  There was a naval race between Britain and Germany  To challenge Britain’s naval superiority, A naval law was passed in Germany between 1898 and 1900 to build a strong navy  Between 1909 and 1911, Germany built 9 “Dreadnoughts”  To keep her naval superiority , Britain built 18 more dreadnoughts  In 1913, Kiel Canal was widened to permit the passage of German dreadnoughts

Armaments Race  The race created bad feeling between Britain and Germany

Efforts to prevent war There were some movements to prevent war: 2. Popular movements to prevent war:  More than a hundred organizations aiming at promoting peace were registered at the headquarters of peace movement at Berne in Switzerland  The Red Cross, was established at Geneva in 1864, also developed in this period  The Nobel Peace Prize was established at the end of 19th century to promote peace 

Efforts to prevent war 2. The international Socialist Movement  The First international was set up in 1864, to unite the workers to safeguard world peace  The Second International was set up in 1889. In 1912, it passed a resolution demanding the workers to launch a general strike if war broke out

Efforts to prevent war 3. Disarmament Conferences  There were two Hague Conferences to cut arms  The First Hague Conference (1899)  The Second Hague Conference (1907)  However, the two Conferences failed to stop armament race

Crises before War 1.The First Moroccan Crisis, 1905-06  The Kaiser visited Tangier in March 1905 and assured the Sultan of his support of Moroccan independence  He also offered Morocco German protection and called for a conference to settle the Moroccan question  In the conference, Britain and Russia supported France and Germany had to make concessions

Crises before War 2. The Second Moroccan Crisis, 1911  Kaiser William II did not satisfied with the result  In 1911, when France interfered into the rebellion in Morocco, Germany also sent a gunboat to Moroccan and make warlike speech against France  A war was about to start. However, Kaiser William II was advised not to start a war before Kiel Canal project completed, Germany made concessions

Crises before War 3. The Young Turk Revolution and the Bosnian Crisis, 1908  In 1908, a number of young Turk officers revolted and overthrown the Sultan  During the Revolution, Bulgaria declared independence  Austria made use of the opportunity to annex Bosnia and Herzegovina  Serbia had strong feeling against the Austrian action  The Bosnian Crisis led to the Sarajevo Assassination

Crises before War 4. The First Balkan War, 1912  Seeing that Turkey was in disorder, Italy declared war on Turkey  Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria and Montenegro formed the Balkan League and declared war on Turkey  Turkey was defeated and signed the Treaty of London (1912)  Under the influence of Austria, Serbia was still a landlocked state. Serbia’s hostility towards Austria intensified

Crises before War 5. The Second Balkan War (1913)  Bulgaria disappointed at the new Balkan map and stated a war in 1913  She joined Turkey to declared war on the other members of the Balkan League in order to get more land  Bulgaria was defeated and signed the Treaty of Bucharest  Serbia and Austria became bitter enemies after the incident

Crises before War 6. Sarajevo assassination  On June 1914, Archduke Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian Throne, visited Sarajevo with his wife  They were murdered by a Serbian student  With Germany’s support, Austria sent Serbia an ultimatum  Although Serbia accepted most of the requests from Austria, Austria declared war on Serbia  War broke out on July, 1914 and other powers entered into the war  The great war then began