Social And Economic Causes Of World War 1

730 Words3 Pages
The Great War started in 1914 and went on until 1919. It was sparked by the assassination of the president of Austria,Franz Ferdinand, in June 1914. Growing forces of nationalism, alliances and economic factors also helped spark WW1. He was murdered by a Serbian nationalist in Bosnia, and a series of threats and mobilization orders followed the incident, leading in August, to the outbreak of World War I, which sparked Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire to run against Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy and Japan. “The Allies were joined after 1917 by the United States. The four years of the Great War was then known unprecedented levels of carnage and destruction, thanks to grueling trench warfare and the introduction of modern weaponry such as machine guns, tanks and chemical weapons.” - History.com.
“Nationalism is an extreme form of patriotism and loyalty to one’s country. Nationalists place the interests of their own country above the interests of other countries. Nationalism was prevalent in early 20th century Europe and was a significant cause of World War I. Most pre-war Europeans believed in the cultural, economic and military supremacy of their nation. Their attitudes and overconfidence were fuelled by things like jingoistic press reporting. The pages of newspapers were often packed with nationalist rhetoric and inflammatory stories or rumours about rival nations. Nationalism could also be found in other aspects of popular culture, including literature,