Causes and effects of WW1

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Causes and effects of WW1

Causes

  • Militarism - policy of building up a strong military to prepare for war. Germany had the highest increase in defence expenditures from 1910 - 1914
  • Alliances - agreements between nations to provide aid and protect one another (Triple Alliance & Triple Entente)
  • Nationalism - extreme pride in ones country. Many countries were trying to take over other smaller countries. this led to resentment by many of these smaller countries who wanted to preserve their own national identity
  • Imperialism - when one country takes over another country economically and politically. Britain, Germany and France needed foreign markets - Scramble for Africa (Germany missed out and Britain gained the most countries)
  • Assassination - of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and Duchess Sophie at Sarajevo, Bosnia on June 28th 1914

Effects

  • Empires disappeared - Ottomans, Austria-Hungary
  • Out of the 60 million soldiers that mobilised during the war, 8 million died, 7 million were disabled and 15 million were seriously injured.
  • Germany was left with a huge war dept that bankrupted the nation and provided fertile ground for the rise of Hitler and the Nazi's - WW1 caused WW2?
  • Health care and medicine was improved

Overall summary

Overall, MANIA was what caused the war and the assassination was the spark, although there still would have been a war eventually. the effects of the war changed the world and was also the main reason why WW2 started.

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