I believe that the most important cause of WWI was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. However, a number of factors contributed to kicking World War I off. Factors such as Nationalism, Imperialism, Militarism, Pan Slavism, Balkan Powder Keg, Alliance System, Germany’s Invasion, Germany’s Blank Check and the Serbian Ultimatum. One of the factors to starting World War I is Nationalism. Nationalism is pride in one’s country or that one’s culture is superior to all others. This idea lead European nations to compete to build the biggest and best army and navy. Jingoism (extreme patriotism, especially in the form of aggressive or warlike foreign policy) caused a lot of people, such as the Serbians, Czechs, Slovaks, Bosnians, and many others, to want freedom from “foreign rule.” Imperialism was another factor in the start of World War I. Imperialism is a policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force. The purpose of Imperialism is to build up national wealth and influence by owning colonies. France and Britain both controlled many colonies in Africa and Asia. Germany and Italy …show more content…
After Austria-Hungary vowed to punish the Serbs, it had to secure the support of Germany. It needed Germany’s support because it was afraid that Russia would support Serbia. Then Austria-Hungary sent an ultimatum to the Serbian government. There were 4 demands in the ultimatum. First, the Serbian government must suppress all groups that opposed the Austro-Hungarian government. Second, Serbia must dismiss school teachers and ban books that didn’t support Austria-Hungary. Third, Serbia must dismiss government officials who spoke out against Austria-Hungary. Fourth, Austro-Hungarian officials must be allowed to participate in the trials of those accused in the assassination. Also, if Serbia didn’t agree to the terms then Austria would use military