Charlotte Wilkinson Ms. Bonanno World History Honors 31 May 2024 Causes of World War I DBQ Essay At the beginning of the 1900’s, the massive clash between many strong European powers was known as the Great War, or World War I. Over time, the causes of this war were agreed upon as militarism, alliances, imperialism, and nationalism. However, the two factors that had the most impact on the start of the war were nationalism and militarism. Nationalism is described as a feeling of loyalty or pride for one’s country, which was very prevalent during that time. Additionally, militarism is defined as building up strong military forces to prepare for war. These two factors played the biggest role in starting the biggest war in history at that time. The initial …show more content…
This massive increase in spending across Europe can also explain the influx of military technology at this time. Many new weapons and warcraft were invented at this time, such as artillery and U-boats (OI). These new advances in military technology would prove to be greatly beneficial during the war. In addition to the arms race and the influx of new technology, tensions between nations ultimately led to the explosion of war. According to Document G, the countries that were part of the “powder keg” of Europe, were able to “explode” at any moment. Any action or event that took place could be enough to start a war. The explosion eventually occurred when a member of the Black Hand assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdiand and his wife, Sophie (OI). The increase in militarism across Europe aided in the tensions between countries and brought about new advancements in military technology. Overall, the main factors of militarism and nationalism are ultimately what caused the start of World War I. The widespread unification in major countries led people to desire to fight for their