Main Causes Of World War I

The main causes of WWI were militarism, alliances, imperialism, and nationalism. The first main cause that was believed to have caused World War I is militarism which is the vigorous buildup of armed forces to intimidate and threaten other countries. Germany used militarism to eventually force Britain to become part of the alliance system. The second main cause was alliances. There were 2 major alliances that were involved in WWI. The first alliance was the Triple Alliance which was made up of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy and the second one was the Triple Entente which included Great Britain, France, and Russia. The third main cause was imperialism which is the belief that a nation can increase it’s power and wealth by controlling other people.

“Europeans in the late 19th century increasingly chose to safeguard their access to markets, raw materials, and returns on their investments by seizing outright political and military control of the undeveloped world,” (Authentic History, “The Origins of WWI”), due to imperialism.The fourth main cause was nationalism which is a feeling of intense pride in one’s