Causes of the First World War

In general, when people talk about the causes of the First World War they think of the obvious one - the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand. This clearly was the main spark to the war, but not many know the underlying reasons, that happened far before June 28th, 1914. For the previous fifty years before World War I, there were heightened feelings of nationalism which developed into the need for increased imperialism, militarism, and militaristic alliances. …

…century, all of the big powers in Europe were divided into one of the two main alliances. Due to Social Darwinism and the mindset that the most fit will survive, nationalism, and thus imperialism were also at an all-time high. These factors were the humble beginnings of the First World War. The result of this aggression at the beginning of the 20th century led to over 21 million war casualties and four years of bloody battle.