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Thematic Causes of World War I (Territorial (Territorial ambition for…
Thematic Causes of World War I
Ideology
Militarism
All countries had
conscription
: Between 1870 and 1914, military spending by the European powers increased by 300%
Naval Race 1906-1909:
Germany and Britain had an ongoing rivalry about who had a better equiped navy.
WELTPOLITIK
:
Make Germany a strong empire and have astrong navy (good military)
Russian defeat in
Russo Japanese
War:
Bruised Russian ego and made them increase militarism
Van Moltke Gemany? p26
Fritz Fischer´s interpretation p32
German Chancellor?
Nationalism
Serbia: Bosnian Crisis and 2nd Balkan War
Germany: Right wing pressure groups (the
Pan-German League
)
rivalries? Britain and Germany evidence
France and Germany evidence
Russia and Austro-Hungary
Serbia and Au-Hung
Russia?
Assassination?
Social Darwinism
Imperial Ambitions in Africa:
The German race was superior than the Africans.
Reasoning to the 1st Morrocan Crisis
Teutons (Germans) vs Slavs
Territorial
Territorial ambition for Russia and Serbia
RUSSO - JAPANESE WAR
1904 - 1905
Japan won
Russia had to abandon its expansionist policy in the far east
Japan became the first eastern country to defeat a western power
.
TERRITORIAL AMBITION FOR FRANCE:
1st Morrocan Crisis
Dispute with France
Agreement achieved: Algeciras treaty 1906
Results
Germany did not gain concessions in North Africa - failure of Welpolitk & blow of German pride
Germany did not undermine the entente, it strengthened it.
Several states considered war a possible outcome of the crisis
Germany was seen as the key threat to British interests
Territorial ambition for Germany
WELPOLITIK
Policy adopted by Kaiser Wilhelm II
Unification of Germany
Chancellor Leo von Caprivi
Make Germany a power with a strong navy and a big empire
NAVAL RACE
A maritime challenge between Britain and Germany
Germany built 17 battleships in 7 years
Britain had launched its super - battleship the HMS
Dreadnought
1st MOROCCAN CRISIS
DIspute with France
Agreement achieved: Algeciras treaty 1906
Results
Germany did not gain concessions in North Africa - failure of Welpolitk & blow of German pride
Germany did not undermine the entente, it strengthened it.
Several states considered war a possible outcome of the crisis
Germany was seen as the key threat to British interests
2nd MOROCCAN CRISIS
Territorial ambition for Austria - Hungary and Britain
ANGLO RUSSIAN CONVENTION
1907
Britain and Russia settled their disputes in Persia, Afghanistan and Tibet
Led to the formation of the Triple Entente
ANGLO - JAPANESE ALLIANCE
1902 - 1923
Britain and Japan had to safeguard their interests in Korea and China
Ended after the Four - Power Pacific Treaty
BOSNIAN CRISIS
1908 - 1909
Austria - Hungary announced the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina to its empire - these territories had previously been part of the Ottoman Empire
ULTIMATUM TO SERBIA
23 July 1914
from Austria - Hungary
They were expecting the Serbs to deny their demands and therefore have an excuse to invade Serbia
2nd MOROCCAN CRISIS
Economic
Acquisition of Empire: War materials, markets, and cheap labor:
Germany unifies= pressure on resources and population increase= WELTPOLITIK.
Britain acquires African colonies for raw materials, cheap labor as they had new technological advances like vaccines.
Austria Hungary: Annexing of Heterozgavia and Bosnia for raw materials and markets.
Industrialization:
Russia is defeated in the Crimean war and the Russo-Japanese war. They start industrializing to have a stronger army. This is also a short term cause as Russia mobilizes quickly in order to prove that they are no longer weak.
Britain has new technology = need to go to Africa for raw materials.
Naval Race between Britain and France: Germany was able to increase the size of their navy because they have industrialized. HMS Dreadnought was possible because of industrialization.
Domestic Economic Issues:
After the unification of Germany there were many domestic economic problems. Rearming boosted the economy as it provided jobs.
Marxist Historians:
They have focused on the role of capitalism and imperialism as key causes of WWI.
A weakness of this is that they do not explain why did the war broke when it did (short term causes).
Joll links personal to impersonal factors: He explains the outbreak of the war in terms of decision taking by political leaders but argues that these were shaped by the impersonal factors which meant that the leaders had limited options for them in the final days.
Political
Germany:
Social reform and increase in support for Socialism
Industrial and Demographic changes = social changes, especially in the towns and cities that they were growing: They wanted to distract people from local problems with the policy of Weltpoltik
The basic hierarchy of the German society stayed the same: If there was a change in the social system, so should the government change.
In 1910 there were 10.86 million industrial workers = biggest single group in society.
They had poor living and working conditions = Workers were able to influence politics by joining the SPD.
The party grew rapidly during this period to become the largest party in the Reichstag by 1912: More opposition to the government, people wanted to improve their living conditions.
Niall Ferguson
:
Germany was moving away from a militaristic outlook prior to WW1. Had influence from the SPD.
Britain misinterpreted German ambitions and decided to act to impede German Expansionism
There was a rise in support for the SPD (Social Democratic Party). There were attempts to reintroduce anti-Socialist laws, but these weren't approved by the Reichstag.
Social Reform- The SPD worked in order to improve the industrial workers' conditions at work.
Between 1891 and 1903, four laws which would allow workers to live better lives were passed.
Russia
Strengths
Peasants loved the Tsar - he was their father
The Romanov dynasty had ruled since 1613
Duma accepted
Educated classes happy
It had no power
Two Parties which supported the Tsar
The rights
Wanted to abolish the Duma
Restore autocracy
The Octobrists
Supporters of the October manifesto
Supported the Tsar but did not go as far as to restore autocracy but wanted him to keep the October Manifesto
Church supported the Romanovs
Government and army controlled by nobles - supported the Tsar
Okhrana & press censorship
Weaknesses
Russia was vast – 125 million people spread across Europe and Asia. This made government difficult, especially because of poor communications – bad roads and few railways.
Tsar Nicholas was an autocrat – Nicholas carried out all the business of government alone, without even a secretary, an impossible load He was a weak Tsar. At first he refused to compromise then, in the crisis of 1917, failed to act.