SYLLABUS
CAUSES (NATIONALISM AND IMPERIALISM, ARMAMENT RACE,
DIVISION OF EUROPE AND SARAJEVO CRISIS)
RESULTS (TREATY OF VERSAILLES, TERRITORIAL REARRANGEMENTS,
FORMATION OF LEAGUE OF NATIONS)
CAUSES OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR
1. NATIONALISM AND IMPERIALISM
❖Nationalism refers to the sense of unity felt by the people, who share a common history,
language and culture.
In the latter half of the 19th century, this
feeling of unity turned into extreme pride,
which made the people of many countries
believe that their country is superior to
the other countries. This led to the
development of aggressive nationalism in
Europe.
Aggressive nationalism meant love for
one’s own country and hatred of other
countries.
Each nation thought about its own national interests and did not care for the interests of the other
nations.
For example – France wanted to get back its provinces of Alsace and Lorraine from Germany.
• Similarly, Italy wanted to get back the
territory of Trentino Trieste from Austria and
Balkan States like Serbia wanted that their
fellow nationals (Slavs) who lived in other
States should come together to form a
greater Balkan State.
• These countries developed expansionist
policies in the name of nationalism.
• Therefore, military strength became
synonymous with national prestige and every
country began to increase her military power.
❖ This aggressive nationalism also led to the rise of Imperialism.
❖ Imperialism refers to the state policy or practice by which a powerful nation establishes its control
over another country, either by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic
control.
❖ Once conquered, this country was claimed as a colony. These colonies were governed and
administered by the imperial nation through its representatives or a puppet government.
❖ The imperial nations exploited the resources of these colonies for their own economic interest.
❖ Colonies provided raw material, cheap labour, agricultural land and trading ports to the imperial
nations.
❖ By the end of the 19th century, England and France had built up a huge colonial empire in Asia and
Africa.
❖ British imperialism was focussed on maintaining and expanding trade by exploiting the resources of
its colonies – India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Egypt, South Africa, Caribbean Islands and many parts of
Africa.
❖Britain’s imperial power was reinforced by her powerful and the world’s largest navy.
❖Some other countries of the world
like Germany, Italy, Russia and Japan
also wanted to increase their sphere
of influence and create their
colonies in Asia and Africa.
❖These colonies were essential for
their progress as they could provide
raw materials for their industries
and markets for their finished
products..
❖Besides, acquiring colonies would add to the power and prestige of these countries.
❖This led to a clash of interest among these countries.
The European powers began to scramble
for expanding their economic and
political empire.
Thus, aggressive nationalism and fierce
economic competition filled the
atmosphere with fear, apprehension,
mutual hatred and international tension.
People felt convinced that international
problems could only be solved through
militarism
2. RACE FOR ARMAMENTS
The mad race for armaments which began soon after the franco-Prussian war (1870) was
one of the reasons which led to the first world war.
Every major power began stockpiling armaments in the name of self-defense and
preservation of peace.
As a result, if one country increased its armaments,
other countries were compelled to do the same.
It filled the atmosphere with fear, apprehension and
mutual hatred.
To protect her colonies in Africa and a few islands in
the pacific, Germany began to build a powerful navy
with a view to achieving parity with Britain.
• By 1914, Germany had left Britain and
France far behind in the production of
iron and steel and in many other
manufactures.
• One of its ships, the Imperator, built
in 1912 was the largest in the world.
The Germans dug the Kiel Canal deeper so that battleships
could enter its waters.
Britain and France were concerned with Germany’s growing
military strength.
This led to a fierce competition among the European countries
and gave rise to the race for armaments.
3. DIVISION OF EUROPE INTO TWO HOSTILE GROUPS
❖There were two kinds of States in Europe in the early 20th century.
❖On the one hand there were single Nation – States like France, Holland and Germany whose
national identities were based on their common language and traditions.
❖On the other, there were Imperial States
like the Austria-Hungarian Empire and the
Russian Empire.
❖The Austria-Hungarian Empire was ruled
by the Hapsburg dynasty of Austria and
included in its territory Hungarian, Serb,
Bosnian and Croat population, who spoke
different languages and had different
cultural traditions.
• Germany entered into an alliance with Austria-Hungary.
• In 1882 Italy joined the alliance and it came to be known as the Triple Alliance.
• After the death of Bismarck, France was able to establish friendly relations with Russia and
England.
• The Russian empire included
territories populated by Polish,
Ukrainian, Turkish and Mongol
populations.
• The three countries entered the Triple
Entente in 1907 to counter the Triple
Alliance.
• Later Japan joined the Triple Entente.
Thus, Europe was divided into hostile
camps.
❖ Britain had created a vast British Empire by acquiring colonies in Asia and Africa.
❖ It grew rich from its success in trade in foreign resources, markets, territories and people.
❖ Other countries of the world like
Germany, the Netherlands, Italy
and the USA too wanted to
acquire colonies in Asia and
Africa. This led to a scramble for
colonies and therefore, rivalries
and wars.
❖ Rivalries between nations
happened not just for colonies
but for colonial trade and trade
routes as well.
❖ These rivalries created suspicion, tension and wars, which finally culminated in the First World War
4. SARAJEVO CRISIS (IMMEDIATE CAUSE)
❖ Archduke Francis Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary was assassinated at
Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia on June 28, 1914.
❖The assassination was organized by a secret society called
‘Black Hand’ or ‘Union of Death’ formed by extremist
Serbian nationalists whose aim was to unite all Serbians
into a single Serbian State.
❖Austria served an ultimatum on Serbia on July 23 making
eleven demands. Serbia accepted most of the demands
except those that would have led to the loss of her
sovereignty.
❖Austria declared war on Serbia on July 28, 1914.
❖Russia started preparation for war to support Serbia.
❖ On August 1, 1914 Germany declared war
on Russia; and on August 3, on France.
❖ German troops marched into Belgium to
press on to France on August 4 and on the
same day Britain declared war on Germany.
Many other countries soon entered the War.
❖ Japan declared war on Germany to capture
German colonies in the Far East.
❖ Bulgaria joined on the side of Germany.
❖ Italy remained neutral for some time but joined the war against Germany in 1915 breaking the
Triple Alliance.
❖ Britain, France, Russia and their allies were called the Allied powers; while Germany, Austria and
their allies were called the Central Powers
• The War was fought in many
different areas called fronts.
• There was a Western Front –
between Germany and northern
France Eastern Front – Germany and
the Russian forces.
• There was fighting at sea and in the
Middle East, where the Allied
Powers attacked the Ottoman
Empire.
RESULTS OF THE WAR
❖THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES (JUNE 28, 1919)
➢The victorious powers or the Allies, met in a conference first in
Versailles, a suburb of Paris, and later in Paris, between January
and June 1919.
➢Though the number of countries represented at the conference
was 27, the terms of the peace treaties were really decided by
Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States, Llyod George,
Prime Minister of Britain, and George Clemenceau, Prime
Minister of France.
➢The defeated countries were not represented at the conference.
The victorious powers also excluded Russia from the conference.
• As a result of the discussions at the
Paris Conference, on June 28, 1919
The Treaty of Versailles was signed.
It ended the War.
• The basis of the treaty’s
negotiations was the American
President Wilson’s Fourteen Points.
• The treaty was designed to prevent
Germany from going to war again.
• .
TERMS OF THE TREATY
The Treaty declared Germany guilty of aggression.
Germany was required to pay for the loss and damages suffered by the Allies during the war.
The amount of reparations was fixed at 33 billion dollars. Germany had to cede her merchant
ships to the Allies as compensation and had to supply huge quantities of coal to France, Italy
and Belgium for ten years.
The area of the Rhine Valley was to be demilitarized and the German territory west of Rhine
was to be occupied by the Allied Troops for 15 years.
Germany lost Alsace Lorraine to France; Eupen-et-Malmedy to Belgium, Schleswig to
Denmark. Danzig became a Free Port in the Polish territory.
Germany ceded parts of her pre-War territory to Denmark, Belgium, Poland, Czechoslovakia
and France
6) The coal mines in the German area called Saar were ceded to France for 15 years and the rea was
to be governed by the League of Nations.
7) Germany lost all her colonies to the victorious Allies – Britain, Belgium, South Africa and Portugal.
8) German colonies in the Pacific and the areas under her control in China were given to Japan. China
was aligned with the Allies during the War but her areas under German control were given away to
Japan.
9) The German Army was restricted to a force of 1,00,000 soldiers and the Navy was limited to 15,000
men and 24 ships. The Air Force and submarines were banned.
10) The Treaty affirmed the complete independence of Belgium, Poland, Czechoslovakia and
Yugoslavakia.
11) The Covenant of the League of Nations was added to the Treaty of Versailles.
TERRITORIAL REARRANGEMENTS
The period after the War saw the beginning of the end of the European supremacy in the
World
Economically and militarily, the United States surpassed Europe to emerge as a world power.
The peace treaties signed after the War transformed the political map of the world,
particularly Europe.
Three ruling dynasties were destroyed – the Romanov in Russia during the War
itself, the Hohenzollern in Germany and the Hapsburg in Austria-Hungary.
Soon after the War, the Ottomans came to an end in Turkey.
Austria and Hungary became separate independent States
Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia emerged as independent States.
Thus, the War gave a serious blow to the autocratic monarchial system and led
to the development of democracy in Europe
➢ Empires having different cultures were
dissolved and independent states having
distinct cultures emerged after the War.
➢ These included Finland, Estonia, Latvia,
Lithuania and Yugoslavia.
➢ Under the impulse of nationalism Alsace-
Lorraine was restored to France and
Schelswig-Hostein was restored to
Denmark.
❖FORMATION OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS
➢ One of the most significant consequences of the War was the creation of the League of Nations.
➢ The horrors of War convinced the leaders of the world that there must be a mechanism to prevent
War and promote international cooperation.
➢ This culminated in the setting up of the League of Nations.
➢ An important part of the peace treaties was the Covenant
of the League of Nations.
➢ Wilson’s Fourteen Points included the creation of an
international organization fo the preservation of peace and
to guarantee the independence of all states.
➢ Thus, the League of Nations was created as a world
organization of all independent States in 1920.
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS
• All the States of the world were prohibited from entering into any secret treaties and alliances.
• The member-States were not supposed to maintain huge armies, warships and destructive
armaments.
• All States were to respect each other’s independence.
• All States were to refer their mutual disputes, if
any, to the League of Nations for a peaceful
settlement.
• The member-States were to take necessary action
as directed by the League against any Sate which
tried to disturb world peace and order.
• Apart from political functions, the League of
Nations was supposed to promote cultural, social
and economic cooperation among the member-
States.
✓ The hopes of having a truly world organization devoted to the preservation of peace and
independence of nations were, however, not realized with the formation of the League of Nations.
✓ Two major countries – Germany and the Soviet Union – were not allowed to become its members
for many years; while India, which was not independent, was made a member.
✓
✓ .The United States which had played an important part in the setting up of the League
ultimately decided not to join it
✓ The rise of dictatorships in Italy and
Germany led to the awakening of
the League of Nations and it failed in
its basic object of maintaining peace
in the world.
✓ Unfortunately, the League came to
an end as Hitler committed
aggression on Poland which began
the World War II (1939-1945)
