Amber Reeves

A3

World War I
It was supposed to be the war to end all wars yet, this four- year conflict was only the
first of world wars that would be the cause for more wars. From 1914 to 1918, Europe was at
war. Great Britain, France, and Russia were all against Germany and Austria- Hungary. The
result from this war was ten million dead and twenty million wounded. What were the
underlying causes of World War I? The underlying causes of World War I were Alliances,
Militarism, and Imperialism.
The first cause of World War I is Alliances. The Triple Alliances during World War I was
Italy, Germany, and Austria- Hungary. The Triple Entente was Great Britain, France, and Russia
(Document D). All the war was doing was destroying the peace of Europe and all European
countries blamed someone else (Document G). With half of Europe on one side and the other
half on another side it created a lot of tension between Europes most powerful countries. Not
one of the countries blamed themselves, they all blamed the other countries which made
everybody angry.
Another cause of World War I is Militarism. Great Britain spent its greatest percent on the
Navy and they became a huge threat to the other countries (Document K). Germany had many
advanced weapons and they used those instead of trying to make peace with Britain, France, and
Russia (Document N). Many of Europes countries spent a lot of money on weapons for the war.
They had thought that if they had advanced weapons they would be able to defeat the other
Alliances.

Amber Reeves
A3

The last cause of World War I is Imperialism. Great Britain had many connections and
influenced a lot of other countries around the world (Document O). Britain, France, and Holland
all had the most colonial territories and with more territory they had more people, power, and
control (Document P). Countries would take territory quickly while there was still territory left to
take. For a country's survival they would need power and security (Document Q). All of Europes
countries wanted to get more land to use and for more power. When a country had a lot of
territory, the more connections they had. With all of the new territory these countries were
getting they would have a lot of land to use for the war.
The underlying causes of World War I were Alliances, Militarism, and Imperialism.
Although those were the major causes of WWI, another cause would be Nationalism. People
were so proud of their countries that they would be so determined to keep it strong. World War I
started because all of those four causes. Alliances, Militarism, and Imperialism brought Europe
into devastation with all of the damage the war had caused.