The pursuit of national interests such as nationalism, imperialism, militarism, and alliances, played a large role in the inevitability of World War I. The Balkans were a cluster of nations in eastern Europe, located between four seas, as well as the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires, giving it a strategically important location, causing many nation-states to fight for control of it. Russia, Austria, and Germany were the three main nations that wanted to get the hands on the Balkans. The cartoon depicts this by representing the Balkans as the prey, or snake, and the dominant countries as the predators, or birds. The birds look malicious, poised to swoop in at any second and take what they believe is theirs. This represents how badly the countries wanted the land, doing anything in their power to get it. …show more content…
This land would appease not only the imperialistic characteristic of these countries, but it would also give them a military advantage, as the land was situated at the crossroads of three major empires: Ottoman, Russian, Austro-Hungarian, also with access to several important waterways. The Balkans are represented by the snake, which is small and seen as prey by the birds, but it also has the potential to be dangerous. Since the Balkans was such sought out territory, conflict was bound to arise. The First Balkan war broke out when Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia, and Montenegro attacked the Ottoman Empire, ending its power over the Balkans, causing discord throughout Europe. The Second Balkan War broke out when Bulgaria was unhappy over the division of goods made in secret by Serbia and