What Were the Causes of World War I?

World War I raged between June 28. 1914 and November 11, 1918. It was fought across Europe and Africa, and in China and the Pacific Islands. Europe was divided into two major camps- the Entente and the Central Powers.
The Entente comprised the United Kingdom and its empire, the Russian empire, France, Canada, Italy, Australia, the Japanese empire, the United States of America, and Portugal.
The Central powers comprised Germany, Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria.
The Entente Powers were successful in the war.
The war was officially declared finished with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. It resulted in the end of many of the empires involved, and the establishment of League of Nations.
There were four main causes of the World War I.

Cause I - Alliances

A structure of secret alliances became prevalent in Europe which was very political in nature. This was ever since the end of the Franco-Prussian war (1870-71). Since then the European continent was fragmented into two antagonistic sides. As there were so many shared security and defense agreements, almost every European country was involved in the world war when it eventually happened. These alliances forced countries to support their allies, whether or not they agreed with the ally's policies. These alliances led to a lot of mistrust and suspicion.

Cause II - Competition for Colonies

International aggression and hostility were another major cause. Many European countries were obsessed with acquiring more and more colonies. Colonies were being established in Africa and Asia. Disagreements and tensions arose and countries were at loggerheads with each other.

Cause III - Militarism

As though already preparing for a major war, all the countries were involved in structuring large, powerful armies and navies. The military officers they developed and groomed were highly professional and authoritative in nature and outlook. They tended to dominate over the civilians. Each country had complete and concrete plans for mobilization of their military forces in the event of a war. The fact that each country was secretly preparing for war was a cause of hostility.

Cause IV - Nationalism

During those days, feelings of nationalism were strongly prevalent across Europe. These feelings gave birth to abhorrence and detestation by one country against another. Factionalist groups were being created all the time. Nationalist writings and speeches were being used to show national superiority. The heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne was assassinated while in Sarajevo. To the Central Powers, this act smacked of Serbian involvement. Serbia was served an ultimatum that included ten demands aimed at undermining that nation. When Serbia met only eight demands, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. One by one, all the European countries, started supporting their allies and this sparked World War I almost instantaneously.

Conclusions

World War I led to mass destruction, including loss of millions of human lives and the expenditure of vast amounts of money. World War I was seen to be the "War to end all Wars," but unfortunately that was not the case.

References

• Causes of World War I