...Alliance System and New Imperialism Paper Agron Ujkaj, Ebony Jackson, De ‘Anna Lanier, Simone Haney, Melvin McClain HIS/114 June 18, 2012 Darrett Pullins Alliance System and New Imperialism Paper The British Empire was the most extensive empire in World History and for a substantial time was the most global power. Balance of power theory is the idea that national security is enhanced when military capabilities are distributed so that no state is strong enough to dominate all others (Waltz, 1979). Balancing is defined as allying with others against the prevailing threats against one another. This paper will focus on the Britain Empire and will include the following: Britain empire and the alliances to which the empire belonged, the concerns for security, strength and wealth that led the empire to enter the alliances, how other empires' expansionism fuelled a race for empire, major imperialist activities of Britain empire during the 19th century, concerns for security, strength and wealth led Britain empire to seek to expand colonial holdings and how Britain empire's alliances and imperial ambitions led to its involvement in World War I. The Major imperialist activities in Britain during the 19th century The new imperial movement came into play when Britain sought to take over nonindustrial regions and territories to increase their presence and control that countries resource. Though Britain was small, the British were known for their ability to grow and colonize all...
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...Cause of WWI - European Alliances The main cause of WWI was the European alliances. To what extent do you agree with this statement Before 1914 the five Great Powers, Great Britain, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia controlled Europe. In 1914 World War One broke out in Europe. Historians have debated the causes ever since. As a historian it will be difficult to conclusively establish a single cause - a number of significant causes is a far more helpful outcome. Although the European Alliances were certainly a cause of WWI, there were many other causes as well. Along with the European Alliances there was Nationalism, Imperialism, Militarism, and of course the physical conflicts leading up to the war. All these issues blew up the balloon of tension, which just needed a tiny pinprick to burst into war. The European Alliances had a major part in beginning WWI. After the build up of tension from Nationalism, Imperialism and Militarism, the Powers were worried about being attacked by each other. To counter this alliances were formed. Germany made a secret alliance with Austria-Hungary in 1879. Three years later Italy joined this Dual Alliance to form the Triple Alliance because it was annoyed with France for stopping its plans to colonise North Africa. The rest of the Great Powers became increasingly worried about the strength of the Triple Alliance. Believing they could be defeated by Germany, Austria and Italy acting together. France and Russia agreed to help each...
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...There were many events that lead to World War One however there were four causes that were the ultimate factors, these were nationalism, imperialism, militarism and alliance systems. Each cause did not single-handedly cause the war but it was the combination of these factors that ultimately led to the war, a war that would change the world forever. Undoubtedly one of the major causes of WWI was nationalism and it truly fuelled the hatred between European countries. In the years prior to the war many Europeans cherished a firm belief in the cultural, economic and military supremacy of their nation. Nationalism assured citizens of the moral integrity of their nation and in contrast demoralised rival nations. It insured citizens that in the...
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...Why did World War One break out? There are many reasons as to why war broke out in 1914, which included many intertwined factors, such as the conflicts and hostility of the four decades leading up to the war. Moreover, Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, and Nationalism played major roles in the conflict. All of these factors where established in many of Europe's 'Great Powers' which consisted of; Great Britain, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia. Many of the reasons as to why war broke out were built up over years and even decades thus, were long term causes. However, a handful of events occurred over a few months and years prior to the event, consequently were short term causes. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his pregnant wife, acted as a trigger that ultimately led to war breaking out. As a result of this T.F. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. The assassination gave Austria-Hungary the ideal excuse to declare war against Serbia. An ultimatum was issued to Serbia stating that it must agree to all the terms described in the ultimatum in order to avoid war. Austria-Hungary gave Serbia 48 hours to reply and clearly stated that all the terms must be met and complied with. Serbia agreed to all terms except one. WW1 had many countries involved but not all of them entered at the same time. There were three sides to choose from at the beginning of WW1. One option was the Central Powers which included; Germany and Austria-Hungary, and were later joined...
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...the formation of alliance systems, which allowed for long term relationships between countries. Next was a sense of nationalism, which gave countries unity and allowed them to work together for the good of their country. Another factor was militarism and the arms race. Each country wanted to show their power through the military, even though they didn’t want to fight. Two more factors that contributed to the rise in European power include imperialism, or the belief of superiority, and Social Darwinism, which is a theory that competition between all individuals, groups, nations or ideas drives social evolution in human societies (Wikipedia). Many client-state relationships evolved in this time period, with Europe being the superior state and other nations being the subordinate clients. Because of these factors, Europe had better food distribution, advances in medicine and sanitation. Their standard of living also increased. Progress in Europe seemed inevitable; however, it was these factors that ultimately led to its downfall in the mid 20th century. The first major hit that Europe received was the “Great War” or World War I which occurred from 1914 to 1918. The causes of this war were not clear cut but they were believed to be the formation of alliances, competition, militarism and nationalism. Secret alliances developed in Europe after the Franco-Prussian War, which eventually split the continent into two hostile sides. These secret alliances led to the suspicion...
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...they were willing to accomplish in order to cement themselves in a certain area. The desire, greed, and rivalry amongst nations to gain territory to ultimately achieve economical and political stability were heightened during this period of time. Not to mention the fact that countries were eager to demonstrate their new technologically advanced weapons and sophisticated battle plans as means of expressing their dominance. Amongst the countries involved, the most powerful were Germany, Russia, France, Britain, Italy, and Austria-Hungary....
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...Topic: The world at the beginning of the 20th century Notes Timeline: 1871: Germany wins the Franco-Prussian war, and takes the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine. 1882: Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy form an alliance called the ‘Triple Alliance’. 1889: ‘The second international’, an international congress meets in Paris. 1898: The Spanish-American war, the Philippines, Guam and Porto-Rico are transferred to the USA. 1899: Boer, settler’s rebel against British rule is South Africa. 1900: The boxer rebellion in China against foreign influence. 1901: President Mc Kindy is assassinated by an anarchist. 1906: The British battleship the dreadnaught is launched, naval race with Germany begins. 1907: The triple Entente is formed between Britain, Russia and France. 1908: A commission uncovers abuses and maltreatment of tribe’s people in the Belgian Congo. 1910: Japan annexes Korea. 1914: 28th June: The heir to the Austro-Hungarian is assassinated. 28th July: Austria bombards Belgrade, with the opening shots of WW1. 4th August: All major European powers at war. Political Ideologies: Socialism: • Developed in the 19th century as a result of industrial revolution. • Based on enlightenment assumptions: 1. Mankind was basically good. 2. Problems of society could be remedied. 3. A gov’t owes a duty to its citizens. • Marxism was the most important form of socialism • Means of producing...
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...fact that humans have given identity to the event that took place as “The Great War”, a global conflict that saw the death of millions of combatants and still one of the deadliest conflicts in history. Nationalism, Imperialism, and Militarism are the forces that drove nations to this conflict, coupled with depression, oppression, and expansionism. The great economic powers of the world were assembled into two opposing alliances, one dubbed the Allies and one called the Central Powers none of which included the United States initially. World War I saw a resurgence of imperialism and this was the underlying cause and what eventually saw the United States, Japan side with its economic partners and the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria join the Central Powers. The immediate spark that lit the flames of World War I was the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria by the Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo (Mitrovic, 2007). Ferdinand was the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary and his death set off a diplomatic crisis as an ultimatum was delivered to the Kingdom of Serbia which eventually saw the invocation of international alliances formed in the decades before. Shortly after Ferdinand’s death war broke out and because of the mutual defense alliances Austria-Hungary had the full backing of the Central Powers (Mitrovic, 2007). As the Serbian Kingdom prepared the Austro-Hungarian forces fired the first shots prior to invasion. These...
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...Tim Lerner History 10 November 2012 Midterm Part Two 8) WWI-in reality The first world war was unlike any other war. The living conditions were terrible because they were living in trenches for months. They had to deal with the fear dying from being shot because of the skilled snipers, gases being thrown into trenches, which have never appeared in any other war, and the deaths from diseases. People were dying daily and were in fear of just peaking their heads out side of the trenches but there was also issues with living in the trenches. Soldiers had infestations of rats, lice and other new medical issues come from living in the trenches. First off the rats in the trenches feared because the ate the remains of the others soldiers who had passed. These rats carried many diseases and got into everything. The soldiers were contently trying to fight them off and get rid of them but they populated so quickly it was hard to keep up. Also these rats would get to be as large as house cats from time to time. Lice became another big issue because they spread quickly and caused illness like trench fever which starts of as pain through out the body then a fever. Due to living in trenches the area was always wet and moist. Many soldiers got trench foot, which is a fungal infection, that was caused by their feet consistenly moist and in unsanatary areas. Living in these conditions and being cooped up in these trenches for weeks would make anyone crazy. The trenches were always crowed...
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...European history that has followed through cause and effect. Causes of the war were growing nationalism, imperialism, militarism and a system of alliances in Europe. Nationalism is the love of one’s country, but it allows individuals to believe they are better than others, so it makes it easier for them to go to war against each other. Before World War I, Europeans were very nationalistic. Imperialism is the domination of one country by another, and European countries established colonies and dominated other nations around the world for their natural resources and their markets. This was no different than the relationship between England and the American Colonies. England believed the colonies existed for the good of England. They thought it was their right to control colonial trade and tax the colonies. Imperialism put European countries in competition with each other for colonies around the world. Militarism is the policy where a country builds up its armed forces. They developed their navys to protect the sea routes to their different colonies. Clearly each country wanted a military equal to if not better to their completion. This led to the Arms race. The problem with having a strong military is the temptation to use it. The European countries began to form alliances for mutual protection, which over time evolved into two rival alliance systems. The problem with alliances is, if a country goes to war, they can drag other countries in with them. This is what...
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...How the European Alliance Helped Cause World War 1 Historians have spent many years analyzing the origins of World War 1. Many factors are considered by historians when asked this question; nationalism, imperialism, militarism, etc. However all of these factors are influenced and tied together by the alliance system in place at the time tensions in the Balkans erupted. In this time period the Ottoman Empire had lost much of its control and power in the corridor to Europe. Many of the leading nations of Europe sought to emplace their influence in this region to serve as an economical attributor to its powerbase. With land being the primary means of travel between the East and West, having control of the corridor would be extremely favorable for any leading power to impose taxes, control the flow of goods, and serve as a barrier against future invaders. Before 1914 the five Great Powers; Great Britain, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia controlled Europe. In order to avoid conflict early on, the major powers went through great lengths to maintain a balance of power constructed from a complex network of political and military alliances throughout the continent. Germany was the chief orchestrator of these alliances when is first made a secret alliance with Austria-Hungary in 1879 (Duffy, "The Causes of World War One"). Three years later Italy joined this “Dual Alliance” to form the Triple Alliance because it was annoyed with France for stopping its plans to colonize...
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...Thesis statement: Germany should not be alone blamed for the World War I, because the major cause of World War I is imperialism and nationalism. Also Austro-Hungary physically started the war, while other leaders of major power knew the war would break out, but nobody did anything to stop it. The World War I was one of the most horrific event in the world history. It led to the fallen of four great imperialist empires such as Germany, Russia, Austro-Hungary, and Turkey. In four years, “the war costed over 15 million people dead” (White 1). It also planted the seed of the World War II. Even though the World War I was ended about a century ago, but it is still a fascinating subject for modern historians to debate. Especially, the question that...
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...europeans, yet the africans could have deemed it unreasonable. Just as Tom Sawyer made unfair trades with people, the europeans intended to do the same thing. Some African nations choose not surrender to, yet some even wanted an alliance with european powers. “I have no intention at all of being an indifferent spectator, if distant Powers hold onto the idea of dividing up Africa.For the past fourteen centuries Ethiopia has been an island of Christians in a sea of Pagans.....Since the All-Powerful has protected Ethiopia up until now, I am hopeful that He will keep and enlarge it also in the future...In the coast, the boundary of Ethiopia was the sea. Without our use of force and without the aid of the Christians, our boundary on the sea fell into the hands off the muslims. Today we do not pretend to be able to recover our seacoast by force; but we hope that the Christian Powers, advised by our savior, Jesus Christ, will restore our seacoast boundary to us, or give us at least a few ports along the coast.”, this is a quote from the ethiopian emperor Menelik II. This quote shows one thing about Ethiopian emperor’s response to European powers. Its show that he did not want to surrender to the europeans, yet he wanted to form an alliance. With this alliance formed, the emperor wanted to recapture their former land from the pagans with european help. While today a pagan is a person who is not a Christian, Jew, or muslim, a pagan in the the 19th century strictly referred to those who...
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...to what extent the system of alliances, militarism and imperial rivalry contributed to the development of the crisis of 1914 and consequently the war. Europe was split into two rival alliance groups, connected by a secondary set of treaties and agreements to countries spread out around the globe. A number of alliances had been signed between countries between the years of 1879 and 1914. The division of the principal nations of Europe into two camps, did not necessarily make for war. It only made it inevitable that any conflict involving two great powers would bring general war. This system has often been justified as being necessary to maintain the balance of power and thus initiate peace amongst nations. This unfortunately was not the case as the Alliance System was based on secret diplomacy, mutual suspicion and fear were created among the powers. In 1905, for example, William II provoked the First Moroccan Crisis in order to see whether or not the Entente Cordiale really existed. Secondly, the Alliance System promoted armament races, too. Anglo-French military cooperation increased after the Second Moroccan Crisis of 1911. The Alliance System was likely to change a local war to a general war with its chain-effect. The fact that the alliances were always made on a war-footing and the powers were divided into sides, nurtured a sense of competition and heightened the war tension and led to an arms race between European powers. The existence of a system of...
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...dominate most of the world by the end of the 19th century? In the 16th century, majority of the population in Europe was living in poverty. Europe paled in comparison to the great empires of the Ming, Ottoman and Mughal. Though Portuguese and Spanish represented Europe civilization to set sail and explore new lands in search of new settlements and viable trade routes, the Chinese empire lead an expedition of a massive scale larger than ever known earlier than that time with a different motive. Such expeditions imply these major empires could be suitable candidates for world domination. However, they became insignificant in the world politics arena due to internal declines and isolation. Strong and impregnable as they seem, these great empires had their weaknesses and suffered downfalls due to inefficient government and inadequate resources. The Ottoman Empire has expanded beyond what its resources could sustain. Coupled with widespread corruption and incompetent leadership, the empire’s armies suffered and became vulnerable to its Christian and nomadic rivals. The Mughal empire leader Aurangzeb, expanded his empire in name of purifying Islam hence weakening alliances with Hindu princes and disrupted the already fragmented social order. With focused expansion of territory using obsolete armies and tactics, the empire was drained of its wealth and fell when civil unrest overtook the crown. The Ming Empire was somehow different. It was an empire with a well-developed industry...
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