The road to war

• newEditor
• Geschiedenis
• Middelbare school
• havo, vwo
• Leerjaar 3

The road to war

Ideologies shaped the world in 1900

Nationalists wanted stronger, larger nation-states.

Imperialists wanted colonies, resources and international power.

Socialists wanted to unite workers across the borders - but had to choose between loyalty to their cause or to their own country.

Which ideology do you think made a European war more likely? Explain...

• Germany: just unified, nationalistic and imperialistic. Felt surrounded by enemies.

• Britain: imperialistic, policy of isolation. Felt threatened by Germany's new navy (trade).

• France: old power, humiliated by Germany. Made an alliance with Russia to feel protected.

• Russia: underdeveloped, enemy of Austria-Hungary

• Austria-Hungary: huge, different ethnicities

Franz-Ferdinand

• Archduke of Austria

• Nephew of the last emperor 

• Heir to the throne after his father and the emperor's son died

• Difficult job: try to stay friends with Russia without getting in a fight with Germany and keeping the vast country united.

Things were very complicated...

• Lots of conferences between European powers to keep the power in Europe balanced

• Austria-Hungary was allowed to occupy and administer Bosnia and Herzegovina temporarily (instead of Ottoman Empire)

• After a Turkish revolution, Bosnia-Herzegovina was annexed by Austria. Russia agreed - but regretted that

• Serbia was very angry (because very nationalistic)

Lots of ingredients:

• Bad relations between several European countries​

• Arms race ​

• Newly made alliances: ​ Germans with Austria-Hungary (Central) ​ France with Russia, Britain and Belgium (Entente)​

• Imperialism​

• Nationalism 

28 june 1914: the assassination of the Archduke

A game of dominos

1. Austria declared war on Serbia ​

2. Russia was allies with Serbia and therefore became involved​

3. Germany (Austria's ally) then declared war on Russia ​

4. France was drawn in because of their alliance with Russia ​

5. Germany attacked France through Belgium which caused the British to declare war on Germany ​

6. Japan became involved because they were allies with Britain

Source analysis:

Each table of two/three will get one source.

You have 7 minutes to answer the questions below.

1. Who created this source, when and why?

2. Which development or decision does the source show?

3. How did it contribute to the outbreak or expansion of the war?

4. Was this step inevitable? Explain.

You then pass the source through to the table behind you.

7

m

00

s

+30 s

Where does each source fit in this chain of cause/effect?

Homework:

• Put every source in the chain of cause and effect

• Place a star at the moment when you think the war could most easily have been prevented. Explain your choice using at least two sources.

• Identify one long-term tension.

• Identify the immediate trigger.

• Identify one decision that caused the crisis to escalate.

• Complete the sentence: “The First World War was not inevitable because …”