Hist

• The most powerful nation in the early 20th century was Britain
• Some European countries were regarded as 'powers' because they had strong economic and military power, dominating world affairs in the early 20th century
• Six major European powers in the early 20th century

  • Britain
  • Germany
  • France
  • Austria-Hungary
  • Russia
  • Italy
• Britain


  • It had the largest colonial empire
  • It adopted a foreign policy called 'splendid isolation' to keep out from European affairs
  • It had the strongest naval power
• Germany


  • Unified in 1871 and wished to become a world power
  • Its king, Kaiser William II, actively expanded the power of the country
  • Its expansion threatened the supremacy of Britain in Europe
• France

  • Defeated in the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871)
  • The land Alsace-Lorraine was ceded to Germany
  • It wanted to take revenge and gained back the land
• Austria-Hungary


  • Multi-national empire facing many problems in ruling different ethnic groups
  • Close relations with Germany as 1/3 of its population was Germans
  • Actively expanded its influence into the Balkan Peninsula
• Russia


  • Its king, Czar, actively expanded the power of the country into the Balkan Peninsula in order to get access to the Mediterranean Sea
• Italy


  • New nation in Europe, unified in 1870
  • The weakest among the major European powers
• European powers colonized Africa and Asia in the early 20th century because these continents had fruitful resources and cheap labour
• Britain and Germany competed for Navy/Battleship/Dreadnought
• WWI is a global war that started from 1914 to 1918. It is the first war in human history that consisted of countries from 5 major continents
• Colonies were symbols of national power


  Colonies could provide resources and overseas markets for European products
• Colonial rivalries

  • France vs Germany (1905, 1911) - Morocco
  • France vs Italy (1881) - Italy
• Colonial conflicts worsened relations among the powers


  The powers formed alliances to protect their interests
• Armament Race

  1. European powers produced more armaments and built up large armies to strengthen national defense

  2. They developed new and powerful weapons such as tanks, machine guns, submarines/U-boats, dreadnoughts, and fighter planes

  3. They introduced conscription

  4. They built faster, greater, and more powerful battleships. Britain and Germany competed for building dreadnoughts in particular
• The armament race increased tension in Europe and made war more likely


  • The European powers had tense competition on producing armaments, which worsened their relations with other countries
  • The European powers became more warlike and tended to use force/violence to solve problems, making war easily break out
• Which two continents were mostly colonized by the European powers in the early 20th century?
• Africa and Asia were mostly colonized by the European powers in the early 20th century
• Pan-Germanism


  All Germans in Europe should be united to build a great German Empire
• Reasons for setting up overseas colonies by European powers

  • Political reason: Colonies were symbols of national power
  • Economic reason: Colonies could provide resources and overseas markets for European products
• Colonial conflicts worsened relations among powers

  • Made the powers form alliances to protect their interests
  • Intensified the armament race among the powers
• Extreme nationalism


  People believe that their nations are superior to others and agree to use force to strive for national glory and weaken others
• Extreme nationalistic movements

  • French Revenge Movement
  • Pan-Germanism
  • Pan-Slavism
  • Austrian expansion into the Balkans
• Extreme nationalism created suspicion between different powers


  Intensified tensions in Europe
• France and Germany competed for control in Morocco
• Albania was formed in 1913 because Austria-Hungary wanted to prevent Serbia from getting an outlet to the Adriatic Sea
• There were four crises among the European powers in the early 1900s that worsened relations and paved the way for the outbreak of the First World War in 1914
• The First Moroccan Crisis (1905-1906)

  1. Germany and France competed for control over Morocco

  2. Germany failed to gain control as other European powers supported France

  3. Franco-German relations worsened
• The Second Moroccan Crisis (1911)

  1. Germany and France had conflict in Morocco

  2. Germany sent a gunboat to Agadir, a Moroccan port

  3. Germany recognized Morocco as a French protectorate after Britain's firm support to France

  4. Germany became more hostile to Britain and France
• The Bosnian Crisis (1908)

  1. Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia-Herzegovina, angering Serbia

  2. Russia advised Serbia to accept the annexation

  3. Anti-Austrian feelings grew in Serbia
• The Balkan Wars (1912-1913)

  1. The First Balkan War (1912): Balkan League declared war on the Ottoman Empire

  2. The League won and part of the Balkan Peninsula was to be given to Serbia

  3. Austria demanded the formation of Albania to stop Serbia from getting an outlet to the sea

  4. Austro-Serbian relations worsened

  5. The Second Balkan War (1913): Serbia gained more land and became more powerful in the Balkan Peninsula

  6. Extreme nationalism grew in Serbia
• Which two countries’ relations deteriorated drastically after the Sarajevo Incident? Austria-Hungary and Serbia
• Why was Archduke Franz Ferdinand the target in the Sarajevo Incident? Because he was the heir to the Austrian throne and his death could disrupt the national development of Austria-Hungary
• Immediate cause of WWI: the Sarajevo Incident (1914)

  On 28 June 1914, the heir to the Austrian throne, Archduke Ferdinand, visited the Bosnian capital Sarajevo. A Bosnian student, who belonged to an anti-Austrian secret group supported by Serbia, assassinated the Archduke. Austria-Hungary asked Germany for help, which promised unconditional support. Austria-Hungary then sent an ultimatum to Serbia, demanding a reply within 48 hours. Serbia, with the support of Russia, refused the last demand and mobilized. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on 28 July
• How did a war between Austria-Hungary and Serbia develop into a world war?

  28.6.1914 Sarajevo Incident, 28.7.1914 Austria declared war on Serbia, 30.7.1914 Russian mobilization, 01.8.1914 Germany declared war on Russia, 03.8.1914 Germany declared war on France, 04.8.1914 Germany adopted the Schlieffen Plan, crossing the frontier of Belgium to attack France; Britain declared war on Germany
• Speaker: '‘Serbia must die!’'
• A CHAIN OF FRIENDSHIP (1914)
• Italy joined the French side (The Allies) in 1915 because it was promised to gain land after the victory of war
• The US joined WWI because Germany persuaded Mexico to form an alliance against her in 1917