The Great War Causes of World War I The Great War Talk with your neighbor about what would start a world war. The start to the war that would be known as the Great War did not happen over night An ongoing build- up of four key ideas led to WWI The first was nationalism The Great War Nationalism is the devotion, and love of ones culture and nation. Nationalism was growing in many different parts of Europe. It was this new bonding of people that created new nations but also new tensions. Why might nationalism create conflict? WWI The second concept contributing to WWI was imperialism. Imperialism is when a country expands its power in the world usually by colonies. Some of the rising Imperialist countries were Germany, Great Britain, France and the U.S. Why would imperialism create conflict? WWI Another cause of WWI was militarism. Militarism is when a nation builds up its military forces for the use of diplomacy. Germany in the late 1800s had built one of the worlds strongest army & navy. WWI The only other European country that could rival Germanys military was the British navy. Why would nations feel that they needed to build a large military? The final cause of WWI was the growing alliance system. An alliance is when one nation makes a deal to protect another nation in return for their help if ever needed. WWI The two major alliances that were formed before WWI were the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance. The Triple Entente were the countries of France, Britain and Russia. The Triple Alliance were the countries Germany, Austria- Hungary and Italy. The Ottoman Empire created a separate treaty with Germany in August 1914 The Great War Russia had an alliance with many of the Balkan countries. Why might alliances create conflict? In one way the alliances were good because it kept one nation from attacking another for fear of bringing in other countries. In another way alliances were bad because if one country did cross the line it could spark a major conflict. The Great War One event sparked the conflict that became WWI, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. It happened in June 1914 in Sarajevo, Bosnia which was part of the Austro- Hungarian empire. The Great War As Ferdinand drove through the streets a man named Gavrilo Princip shot him and his wife. Princip was part of a group called the Black Hand that was for Serbian nationalism. In the following days the alliance system was put to the test. The Great War How did alliances, boundaries and national identities shape The Great War? On your handout rank the causes of The Great War based on which one impacted Europe the most. Be prepared to justify why you chose your #1.