The causes of World War One were complex and deep and culminated in the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo in June 1914. Yet long before this, the tensions and events had arguably made a war on some scale virtually inevitable.

TREATIES

Various countries had signed treaties with each other which had created a complex web of international agreements. Between 1879 and 1914, eight separate alliances were signed, resulting in the Triple Entente (Britain, France and Russia) facing the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy) by the summer of that year.

The outcome was that once a single country had decided on military action, the other countries were dragged into the conflict whether they liked it or not.

ARMS RACE

In those same years preceding The Great War, countries involved in signing international agreements were also building up their armaments. The treaty-signing process meant that some of these countries began to feel encircled and threatened by what was going on around them. The increasingly natural response was to turn to military defences as a way of deterring would-be invaders.

However, the only result was to increase the fear-factor and so began an arms race which increased significantly in the last few years before war was declared. It was particularly evident between the British and the Germans who competed vigorously to have control of the seas.

INTERNATIONAL TENSIONS

The Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871 left France feeling aggrieved for Germany claiming most of Alsace-Lorraine. This was a major part of French public support for the First World War and asserting their rights to claim back the land taken from them over 40 years previously.

The Balkans had also been a source of international tension for centuries as different ethnic and national groups attempted to assert their authority. In many ways, there was little surprise that tensions over-spilt here rather than elsewhere on the continent.

IMPERIALISM

With Britain's huge empire extending over approximately a quarter of the globe and France dominating most of Africa, rivalry with Germany was increasing. This led to Germany's late colonial quest in their increasing search for new markets after industrialisation and their desire not to be left behind the world's leading empires.

There was also a suggestion of German jealousy at the size and scope of the British navy. As an island with an empire stretching around the world, the navy was very important to Britain, but some experts believe it also contributed to Germany feeling threatened and resentful in their quest for power.

NATIONALISM

Among all this was the increasing feeling of nationalism in many countries. This was assisted by the unification of Italy (1861) and Germany (1871) as well as the on-going tensions between various national groups in the Balkan countries.

The combination of these factors resulted in such strain across Europe that by the summer of 1914, it only needed a spark to ignite a huge fire. And the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand did just that.

It's sad to think that if he hadn't been killed, something else is likely to have sparked a war. And it's also sad to think that many of these lessons weren't learned over the course of the next 20 years or so, otherwise we may only have experienced one world war.

Learn more about this author, Ben Hughes.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

---

Add your voice

Know something about The causes of World War I?
We want to hear your view. Write now!