World War I

Causes of World War I

1. Economic Changes in the late C19th and Imperialism

2. Alliance System, the division of Europe and the breakdown of diplomatic relations in Europe
3. the assassination at Sarajevo
4. German aggression afterwards and the failure of the European powers to prevent war

Conflict and Integration in C20th Europe, University of the West Indies, St Augustine, 1997.

Dr K. Parmasad

Trends of the late ¼ of the C19th developed into the early C20th therefore the centuries should not be
separated

These trends include:

1. the eradication of feudalism – Europe develops a capitalist society consisting of a strong

industrialist class and a working class
2. the fall of monarchies and the rise of parliaments therefore a new political system and culture
arose – England retained a constitutional monarchy
3. the emergence of the rule of the democratic process. The question of voting comes into play
because the people have become empowered. The B holds the means of production and when
the lower classes become class conscious a revolution would take place (Marxism)
4. Spread of industrialization to Russia
5. By the C20th the industrialized B started to be challenged by another sector of the B class.
Capitalism was clearly going through defined stages:
i. Merchant capitalism from trade
ii. By the 1830s industrial B capitalism from mass production and industrialization
iii. By the C20th the emergence of the finance capitalist B
6. there was the rise in urbanization and the emergence of the masses as an important political
factor in society. The labouring masses became a new organized group as never before to
labour and to struggle in political movements
7. there was the consolidation of clearly defined nation states. The development of ideologies of
nationalism which would take root in the C20th

There were therefore new forces at work at the political, social and economic levels that shaped C20th
Europe. C20th revolutions therefore are characterized as social revolutions as opposed to political
revolutions of the century before.

8. there was migration of the labouring classes to other areas and also from one country to the
next. This therefore gave rise to internationalism
9. there was the consolidation of colonial rule. Colonialism was firmly established and Africa was
officially divided. The only part of Africa that was not colonized was Ethiopia

When it came to rivalry, Europe was looking within her borders as she had gotten all the outside land
available therefore the European nations fought among themselves to control economic markets.
Europe 1900 to 1914

Germany

- consisted of Germans, Czechs, Slovaks, Poles, Magyars

- weak with respect to geography, political structure after the dismissal of Bismarck, and
diplomacy
- strength lay with economy through industrialization as it was leading in steel production and
only second to Britain in coal production
- growing military

Hapsburg Empire

- Austria-Hungary
- Consisted of Croats, Bosnians, Serbs, Slovenes, Montenegrins, Herzogovenes
- 11 nations and 15 different languages
- Low capital
- Weak military
- Lost land during German Unification and Italian Unification

France

- Huge empire in Africa

- Strong military not always supported by Republican party
- Moving between republic and dictatorship
- 1871 France declared a third Republic
- Isolated as a power but still maintained her power
- Second to Britain but by 1914 her income was only ½ of Germany’s
- Strong in diplomacy

Great Britain

- Large colonial empire – ¼ of the world’s population

- Largest navy
- Biggest investor, banker, trader, insurer
- Faced only three challenges – American and Russian industrialization and the Scramble for
Africa

Russia

- after the Crimean War, Russia produced coal, oil, textile and steel
- Russia in many areas surpassed France
- 4th largest Industrial Power
- Focused mainly on agriculture

Africa was attractive to the Great Powers for economic reasons. It provided an open market that would
give the Great Powers a trade surplus where exports would exceed imports. The demand of raw
materials that were unavailable in Europe such as copper, cotton, rubber, palm oil, cocoa, diamonds,
tea and tin were the items on which European industries had grown dependent. Also of geographic
importance to Britain as the south and east coasts would provide ports for docking en route to India.
Congo was fought over for its ivory and rubber – eventually captured by Belgium. By 1875 Britain
had controlled close to half the land on Africa. Britain and France shared control of the financial
affairs of Egypt. In 1881 however, Britain assumed full control. France took Tunis in the same year to
compensate for their losses encourages by Bismark who wished to cause trouble between the French
and the Italians who were there in Tunis. This drove the Italians to join in an alliance with Germany
and Austria and so France was isolated. The scramble for land in Africa caused tension which could
have resulted in wars.