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World War 1 erupted in 1914. World War 1 had many countries involved but not all of them entered at the same time. There were three sides to choose from at the beginning of World War 1. One option was the Central Powers which included Germany, and Austria-Hungary, and were later joined by Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire who were neutral at first then joined the Central Powers. There were the Allies which were made up of Ireland, Great Britain, France, Belgium, Russia, Montenegro, and Serbia.
The Allies were later joined with Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Romania who left the Neutral nations. The Neutral nations were made up of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands, Switzerland, Albania, and Spain. There were many causes for the outbreak of World War 1. One cause of World War 1 was militarism. Militarism is the glorification of one countries military. Many countries were getting this militarism idea because they dreamed of war being glorious.
Many young men dreamed of walking down the streets playing there trumpets along with the rest of the military and having people cheer for them as they marched by. Many people would soon find out that war is not good. Another thing that goes along with militarism and the outbreak for World War 1 was the arms race. Many countries wanted to have the best armies and navies with the best weapons. The worst competition was the naval rivalry between Britain and Germany. To protect its vast overseas empire, Britain had built the world’s most respected navy.
When Germany began to obtain colonies, it began to build a strong navy also. A result of this rivalry led to a war between the two which was one cause of World War 1. A second cause of World War 1 was imperialism. Imperialism is the domination by one country of the political, economic, or cultural life of another country or religion. Economic rivalries were a big cause of World War 1. The British felt endangered by Germany’s fast economic growth. By 1900, Germany’s new, modern factories vastly out produced Britain’s older ones.
This was a strong economic reason for Britain to oppose Germany in any disagreement. Imperialism also divided European nations. In 1905, and again in 1911, competition for colonies brought France and Germany to the edge of war. This was also another cause for the outbreak of World War 1. The spark in which World War 1 was started was due to the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary. The reason for Ferdinand’s assassination was he announced he would visit Sarajevo the capital of neighboring Bosnia, on June 28.
The Serbians were outraged; June 28 was the date on which Serbia had been conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1389. Also on the very same date in 1912, Serbia had at last freed itself from Turkish rule. But Bosnia, home to many Serbians, was still ruled by Austria-Hungary which is why they were outraged. As a result of Ferdinand’s decision on June 28 he was assassinated by a 19 year old youth Gavrilo Princip. As a result of this Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. There were also many effects that World War 1 had.
One effect was the economic impact. Governments raised taxes and borrowed huge amounts of money to pay the costs of war. They rationed food and other products, from boots to gasoline. Also they introduced other economic controls, such as setting prices and threatening strikes. Another effect of World War 1 was propaganda war. Both the Central powers and Allies waged a propaganda war. In Germany, people learned to sing a “Hymn of Hate” against the British. Allied propaganda often played up Germany’s invasion of Belgium as a barbarous act.
The British and French press circulated tales of atrocities, which were horrible acts against innocent people. World War 1 did not have any good effects, which is why war is not a good thing. When World War 1 ended more than 8. 5 million people were dead. Double the numbers were wounded, and many were handicapped for life. Also famine threatened many regions. The destruction was made even worse in 1918 by a deadly epidemic of influenza. In just a few months, the flu swept around the world, killing more that 20 million people. World War 1 brought about many bad things.