SUMMARY of the antecedents of the First WORLD WAR

Image: La Vanguardia

The history of humanity is full of continuous wars, conflicts between two or more sides that take the lives of many people and that can change the political and social framework of the whole world. All wars are born from one or more facts, what we tend to call as causes of conflict, and that is why it is important to know the antecedents that lead to these causes. To understand the reasons for one of the greatest wars in history, in this lesson from a PROFESSOR we are going to talk about the World War I background.

Index

1. What is the First World War?
2. La Paz Armada, one of the antecedents of the First World War
3. Imperialism, another cause of the First World War
4. Alliances before World War I
5. Balkan crisis
6. Sarajevo attack

The First World War, also called the Great War, is a conflict that took place all over the world, although most of it was in Europe, between July 28, 1914 and November 11, 1918.

It is considered as

In war we can find mainly two sides, the so-called Central Powers and the Triple Entente. The former were led by Germans, the Austro-Hungarians, and the Ottomans, while the latter were led by France, the United Kingdom, and Russia.

Here we discover how it was Europe before the First World War.

Image: Slideplayer

To continue this lesson on the background to World War I, we must talk about the situation that Europe was in the years prior to the outbreak of the conflict, commenting on each of the most important.

From 1885 to 1914 the so-called Armed Peace reigned throughout almost all of Europe, being a period of time in which there were hardly any wars between the European powers, existing a kind of unwritten peace between all. This peace was very important at the time, since there was a great economic rivalry for the African and Asian colonies, and this Peace allowed the powers to continue their activity without fear that another European state will try to take away their possessions.

Another important point of the Armed Peace is that the great European powers barely had conflicts, so they developed their war industry, causing that when the war began all had great armies and all of them with great modernization.

The ImperialismIt was the time when the great European colonies began to take numerous territories of Africa and Asia under their dominion. The Industrial Revolution had caused the resources of European countries to be used up quickly, so the large powers decided that it was best to take the African and Asian states where raw materials had not been as used as in Europe.

In this situation the Berlin Conference, where the great European powers agreed to the division and distribution of Africa, each country keeping a portion of the African continent. The late arrival of the Germans, who considered that he deserved more than what he received, caused a series of unrest among the European powers.

Image: Slideshare

Imperialism had created great European powers, some of which were too powerful, and that is why This is why in Europe a series of alliances began to be given whose intention was to balance the power of the continent. These alliances were not fully maintained in the war, but part of them did, and that is why it is important to mention them.

The first of the alliances was the call Triple Entente, formed by Russian Empire, United Kingdom and the French Republic. This alliance was formed as a measure against the growing power of Germany and her allies, as well as the envy that Germany had of the British and French for her colonies. The side formed the side of the Allies in World War I, albeit with important allies such as the United States and Italy.

The second of the alliances was the call Triple Alliance, formed by Germany, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Italy, although the latter left the alliance upon entering the First World War. The main reason for the alliance was mutual hatred towards the figure of France, since the three states were angry with the French for their policies in Africa.

The Armed Peace had caused Europe to be a territory free of confrontations, the only exception being what happened in the Balkans. The Balkan crisis was a sustained situation between 1906 and 1914, which many people consider was vital to the start of the First World War. The Ottoman Empire was in crisis, and for this reason many nationalistic spirits were born within it, the who faced the Turks at the same time that European powers entered the conflict to remove benefit.

The first step was the separation of Bosnia Herzegovina of the Ottoman Empire, and its entry into the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This did not please Serbia, who wanted to add Bosnia to her independence, seeking to create a Greater Serbia, or what would later be Yugoslavia.

In subsequent years the First and Second Balkan Wars took place. The first was a confrontation between Serbia and its allies called the Balkan League, who received Russian support, against Turkey and Austria. The second pitted Bulgaria, who had been a member of the Balkan League, against the rest of its former allies and the Ottoman Empire.

All this caused great instability in the Balkans, causing it to be an area full of conflicts that would lead to the start of the First World War.

Image: Background to World War I

To conclude with this lesson on World War I backgroundWe must talk about what is considered the main cause of the beginning of the war, being the starting point of the entire conflict.

On June 28, 1914 the Austro-Hungarian heir, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, he was visiting the city of Sarajevo. During the visit the archduke was assassinated by Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Black hand, a terrorist organization fighting for the independence of Bosnia, which was under Austro-Hungarian rule.

Europe was in a delicate situation, and the death of the Archduke accelerated conflicts between the countries, bringing with it the start of the First World War.

If you want to read more articles similar to Background to the First World War, we recommend that you enter our category of Story.

Stevenson, D. (2015). History of the First World War. Madrid: Debolsillo

Aróstegui, S. (2006). Tensions and conflicts in the First World War. Madrid: Watchtower