The Causes of World War One

World War One left 9,906,000 soldiers dead, 21,219,000 soldiers wounded and
7,750,000 soldiers missing. It was a conflict between the Allied Powers (France,
Russia, Britain, Italy and the United States), and the Central Powers (Germany,
Austria Hungary and the Ottoman Empire). The three main causes of the war
were the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, widespread militarism
and economic imperialism.

The first cause of World War One took place on June 28, 1914. Gavrilo Princip,
a Bosnian Serb student, shot and killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to
the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife. Princip belonged to a group
called the Black Hand, who wanted Serbia to be independent from Austria
Hungary. Austria Hungary demanded Serbia to punish those responsible for
the assassination. When Serbia failed to comply, Austria Hungary declared
war on Serbia. Since Serbia was an ally of the Allied Powers, the Allied Powers
declared war on Austria Hungary. This, in effect, meant a declaration of war
against the Central Powers. Ferdinand’s assassination started a chain
reaction that led to both powers declaring war on each other.

Widespread militarism was the second cause of World War One. Aristocrats,
dictators and military elites had too much control over Russia, Germany and
Austria and the war was one consequence of their desire for military power.
Britain’s Royal Navy was stronger in terms of the amount of personnel, ships
and carrying capacity than both Germany and Austria Hungary’s navies
combined. Since aristocrats in Germany and Austria Hungary knew they were
losing the arms race, they decided the best way to catch up to Britain’s
Royal Navy was to declare war.

The third cause of World War One was economic imperialism. Great Britain
and France maintained their domestic economies through their control and
trade with foreign colonies. Germany and Austria Hungary had very few
foreign colonies, and their domestic resources were rapidly running out. In
order to maintain their domestic economy, they had to look for more
resources by expanding their territories. Germany could not easily find other
colonies because there were few worthwhile colonies left. France and Great
Britain had most of Africa and southern Asia under their control. The
competition for expanding markets to sustain their domestic economies led
to hostile relations between the powers.

The murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the desire to maintain power and a
strong military, and the competition for foreign resources for economic
sustainability were the three main causes of World War One. David
Stevenson, a British historian, said, “A self-reinforcing cycle of heightened
military preparedness was an essential element in the conjuncture that led to
disaster. The armaments race was a necessary precondition for the outbreak
of hostilities." He could not have been closer to the truth.

Causes of World War II

There are many thoughts of how World War II started, and in

fact most of them are true. Hundreds of little problems led up
to what the world knows as the one of the most deadly of all
wars. From strong minded politicians, to poor economic
situations, World War effected just about everyone in the world.
Times were hard, people were unhappy about the end of World War
I, and many governments were left in shambles. The world once
again was a ticking bomb or unhappy people. Ultimately, it was
so many unhappy people that led to World War II.
The first obvious reason for the start of World War II, is
that the powers of countries were very ambitious. This ambition
led to a strong rise of Nationalism in their respective
countries. The main problem with the ambition was that it was
spread throughout the world. From Japan, to Italy, and
ultimately to Adolf Hitler in Germany. These leaders only
claimed to make time for their countries’ better. Their intent
was for something more. They were looking for more and more
power. This led to immediate conflicts with other nations.
Economic conditions was also another step to the beginning
of WWII. The ambitious leaders were in their positions due to
people wanting a better country. The idea of a stronger and
powerful country made the poverty stricken citizens want the
ambitious leaders in office. The poverty that stretched
throughout the world after WWI, also made the world want to be
made into a better place. People were looking to these powerful
people for survival. The leaders that they were putting into
power, acted as though they were going to help the general public
get back on track.
The weak governments in Western Europe were extremely
influential in the start of the war. As new politicians were
being elected the country began to rebuild. Production began to
go up, and people became happy again. Once this began to occur,
the new and extremely powerful leader really began to take the
reins. Alliances between countries were made, and enemies were
also made. The need to be that strongest country plagued each of
these new leader’s mind until one of them was brave enough to
achieve their goal. This ambition hurt the country, and
eventually the world.
World War II started sort of like a snowball. It began as
one country trying to achieve to much, and eventually had the
entire world trying to right the wrongdoing of other countries.
If a person had realized what a problem these ambitious countries
would be, who knows if there would have been a World War. All of
the factors that contributed to the war were like layer in a
snowball. One, after another, after another. The amount of
problems eventually became so great that nothing could stop them
from tumbling out of control.