Cause(s) of WWI Over many decades, there have been thousands and almost millions of reasons for what caused World War 1. Some say it was the only assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary or the European expansion alone. Furthermore, there is not just one factor that led to the cause of World War 1, yet possibly three. In simple terms, the causes of World War 1 are militarism, nationalism, and alliances. Militarism was the increase in the military with the industrial revolution. The nations were allowed to spend more and were involved in an arms race. The chart shows that Great Britain, France, Russia, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy had increased their spending by 35+ percent by 1914 (Document 1.) This gave …show more content…
It was also the Black Hand as well as the Slavic people who wanted their own country for their people, as they believed they were superior to all. They did not like Austria-Hungary so they went after their leader. The Black hand then killed the leader of Austria-Hungary and that set off the alliances in World War 1. Lastly, there were a few different types of alliances before World War 1. The Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance. The photo of Europe in World War 1 shows the alliance systems (Document 2.) Because Austria-Hungary had protection from Germany and Italy, they were forced to fight Russia, France, and Great Britain even though those countries had nothing to do with each other. This created the domino effect, as alliance after alliance, the war grew. To conclude, militarism, alliances, and nationalism were the main causes that led to World War 1. Militarism was the increase in the military with the industrial revolution. Alliances had two factors; the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance. Nationalism was not only the motive behind the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, but was the Slavic people who wanted control of their own