Causes of World War one
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“Because That Guy Got Shot”
There is a lot of speculation as to which event of the nineteen hundreds led to the out break of World War One. Many people tend to say “Because that guy got shot.” Still others have blamed everything from increased Nationalism and Imperialism in Hungary to Militarism in Russia. If one had to answer the question “What was the cause of World War One,” the answer would be all of the above, and more. The events from June of 1914 through August of 1914 can be described as a classic case of Ðone thing led to another.
The chain of events starts with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Many people tend to confuse this first part in the chain of events as the total cause of World War One, but that is not the case. The assassination is but a mere trigger of a domino effect. The assassination immediately led to Imperialism of Austria-Hungary over Serbia. It was demanded that Serbia allow the assassins to be released to be punished adequately by Austria-Hungary. Austria-Hungary immediately sought an ally with Germany, assuming war would follow after their demands of Serbia. Austria-Hungary and Germany declared war on Serbia on July 28, 1914.
The declarations of war were chain reactions in themselves. In defense because of war looking like a major possibility, Russia began militarizing. Germany saw Russias Militarism as a threat. War was declared from Germany on Russia. France was in a treaty with Russia and therefore against Austria-Hungary and Germany. Britain entered the war as an ally with France and to protect Belgium. Britains entrance gained the resources of all of the British colonies an territories as well.
Many other countries eventually entered during the war because of threats. However, the above is the direct chain of events that caused World War One. Almost the entire chain reaction shares the common feeling that triggered war. This feeling is suspicion. That is what ultimately caused World War One to break out. No one event can be blamed without the chain following and surrounding it. The feeling of suspicion can certainly be detected in all of them. Suspicion was the most direct, yet underlying cause of World War One.