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Imperialism, the catalyst of the Great War

One would assume that World War I, or the Great War, occurred due to the assassination of the Austrian archduke, Franz Ferdinand, by the Serbian organization, the Black Hand. One would technically be correct since the assassination was the trigger of the war; however, some people do not understand that there were many other contributing factors that made the Great War inevitable. Such factors are nationalism, the devotion to ones nation, militarism, the building of a nations army, and the alliance system1. Many factors contributed to the start of the war; however, imperialism was the catalyst of all the factors. Imperialism, as defined by the Webster dictionary is, the policy, practice, or advocacy of extending the power and dominion of a nation especially by direct territorial acquisitions.2 The European nations created empires throughout the centuries, such as Britain did when it took over part of the Americas, and also, when Spain had taken control of most of South America. The European nations mainly expanded after the industrial revolution since the nations had the resources and technology to do so. Still, such nations like Britain and Germany wanted to expand their already established empires into the continents of Africa and Asia. Though the expansion of these nations created tensions between them, there were disputes between the borders of the territories obtained, such as in Africa. So the imperialist nature of these countries created competition between them, because every country wanted to become the superior nation so they could prove their dominance over the others. Even though the imperialistic nature of the European countries has been around for centuries, it became more evident in the nineteenth century.

1 2

Causes of WWI." Scribd. http://www.scribd.com/doc/409850/Causes-of-WWI (accessed April 30, 2012). Imperialism - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary." Dictionary and Thesaurus Merriam-Webster Online. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/imperialism (accessed April 30, 2012).

Salazar-2 Imperialism was a strong movement, especially for the Europeans since, it encouraged many to advocate the imperialistic movement. John Stuart Mill, a British philosopher and civil servant, was a strong advocate for the movement in imperialism because, he believed that colonialism was beneficial for his nation, making imperialism a permanent well being for the nation. His belief was that colonization had universal benefits in civilization, prosperity, and peace.3 John strongly argued that nations colonies would help bring great revenue to the nation, because of the imports and exports. Mill treated the colonies as international businesses, a way in which imports would be cheap to buy and exporting goods easy to do, in order to make products. It was apparent that the citizens of the nation supported the imperialistic movement, because they assumed that it was beneficial; so, the nations continued with their movements with more determination than before. Many nations had already begun their road to become a vast empire, though one nation seemed to be expanding faster than others, and that nation was Britain. Mostly due to its undisputed dominance of the sea Britain already being the country that seemed to have had the most spheres of influences around the world.4 Britains dominance expanded because of their immense navy that surpassed any other nations; nevertheless, Britain had to rush to obtain more land since every other major European power wanted to extend their own sphere of influence. Britain was fortunate to have their vast navy, because, it was able to reach farther locations in a faster time. An example of Britains power was its influence in Asia, especially in China.

Blackboard, John Stuart Mill: On Colonies and Colonization, E-Reading B078, from History 110B. (accessed April 30, 2012). 4 Imperialism - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary." Dictionary and Thesaurus Merriam-Webster Online. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/imperialism (accessed April 30, 2012).

Salazar-3 Britain had already had a sphere of influence in India, with their monopoly on the tea, which they exported from India, by the East India Company. Though Britain extended its reach to China, because of the tea the British already had, it also had another product that was imported into China, which was opium. Opium had already been used in China for various centuries; however, when the trading lines between the Dutch and the British opened with China, opium was imported in large amounts.5 With the large amounts of opium entering the country of China, it was only a matter of time until catastrophe followed. Opium being the drug that lowers a persons ability to function, and the addiction aspect of the drug is quite dangerous. Opiums abuse by the Chinese made it a social problem and for the Chinese Commissioner in Canton, Lin Zixu, it became a personal problem since his son died of an opium overdose. Because of this, Lin decided to request the immediate end of the importing of opium. But the British did not want to comply with Lins request, since; it was such great cash revenue for the British. Due to the insubordination of the British, Lin decided to take over the opium supplies of the British, but was eventually captured and sent to exile for the remainder of his life. Lins exile eventually led to the opium wars, events in which Britain tried to maintain its power over China, which proves the imperialistic nature of Britain. The importance of this event is that a nation, in this situation Britain, comes to a new land with seemingly good intentions in order to make a treaty with the members of the new land. However, the imperialistic nations true intentions are to control the new land for their own financial profit. Such events like these created disagreements between countries, even though some of these conquered countries could not do anything, but protest.

Blackboard, Lin Zixu[Lin Tse-Hsu], Letter of Advice to Queen Victoria, E-Reading B076b, from History 110B. (accessed April 30, 2012).

Salazar-4 Though with protests of nations occurring, Europeans still wanted more. They wanted to keep growing. By the nineteenth century most countries had already reached most parts of the world, except those regions that were impossible to reach or had no real meaning. Though with time, various innovations came to be. The thing that helped the Europeans to expand was treatments and cures to diseases that prevented them from entering jungles. As to the innovations that helped Europeans expand, information of various regions became grand, such as the possibility of finding raw materials and investments in the unexplored regions of Africa.6 With the recently discovered knowledge, Europeans sought out their own piece of Africa. Consequently, the European nations raced to carve their own piece of Africa in order to provide their own nations greater industrial power. But, there were problems that arose when Africa was being carved by the various nations. The first problem that arose was that Africa had not really been explored, so, it was tough to distinguish territory lines. The difficulty to distinguish borders created much distraught between the nations creating tensions and disputes. The second reason was that many nations seek a specific area, which made it difficult to divide Africa, such as the ever-sought Congo7. Much of the eastern and western coasts of Africa had been taken over. Therefore those who wanted to expand had to expand to the remaining places in Africa, the north and south coasts of Africa.8 This incident prompted France and Germany to propose a notion that would make a European conference concerning the carving of Africa. This later on became known as the Berlin Conference9. The agreement agreed upon in the Berlin Conference

Blackboard, The Berlin Conference: The General Act of Feb. 26, 1885, E-Reading B085, from History 110B. (accessed April 30, 2012). 7 Which later turned out to be a mass source for rubber 8 Woolf, Leonard. Empire & commerce in Africa; a study in economic imperialism, 59, New York: H. Fertig, 1968. 9 Blackboard, The Berlin Conference: The General Act of Feb. 26, 1885, E-Reading B085, from History 110B. (accessed April 30, 2012).

Salazar-5 eased tensions between the territorial disputes; however, it was not long until the tensions arose due to the countries imperial mindset. The Berlin conference was significant, due to the fact, that it helped ease tensions between the imperialistic nations. However, Africans were not takin into consideration in this treaty.. The Europeans agreed that the nation who would take power over a certain region of Africa would take care of its inhabitants. But, the Africans did not want that, since they were being taken over for their resources.10 Competition still arouse between all of the nations. This competition mainly occurred in order to intimidate other European nations. The contests were also held in order to keep the nations imperialistic earnings safe and to gain more territories to prove, that certain nation is growing stronger. These competitions were mainly a way to send other nations a message of the nation is growing stronger, such as Germanys vast increase in its navy. Britain, being the country with the greatest navy at the time being, believed itself invincible because it could not be reached since it was an island nation, and the only way to enter it was through a marine vehicle. Also, Britain used its navy as advantage because it was able to visit areas faster then any other European nation could. Though England was greatly humiliated by the Boer War, in the beginning of the twentieth century, England felt it was decorating.11 Because of Britains deteriorating state, Germany felt it was the ideal time to surpass the once great nation. So Germany decided to increase its own navy. Britain saw Germanys increase of naval power as a threat. According to Robert Blatchford, a socialist politician, he believed, Germany [was] deliberately preparing to destroy the British Empire, and, it decides to grow its navy even larger

10

Blackboard, The Berlin Conference: The General Act of Feb. 26, 1885, E-Reading B085, from History 110B. (accessed April 30, 2012). 11 "The Anglo-German Naval Race." Transatlantic Ocean Liners & Nationalism. http://www.oceanliner.com/nationalism/anglo-german-rivalry (accessed April 30, 2012).

Salazar-6
12

. This competition between Germany and Britains navy was known as the Anglo-German

Naval Race. The Anglo-German Naval race started with the Germans naval rearmament program, a massive program of naval building, and clearly announcing its intention to create a fleet of such strength that a war against the mightiest power would involve risks threatening the supremacy of that power.13 People from became anxious, because they knew that Germanys policy was to create a navy that competed against the British. The Germans armament first significant step started in 1898, with the Navy Law of 1898. This law provided a fleet of 19 battle ships, 12 large cruises, and 30 small cruises, and an assortment of other ships. However, Britain responded with its naval rearmament as well, which beat the Germans, because it vastly outnumbered them. Another important factor was the addition of the Dreadnaught to the British Royal Navy. The Anglo-German naval race started to demonstrate that a country is not satisfied with what is available to them. This event demonstrated that European nations wanted to dominate one another. Even though Germany had its colonial empires in Africa, it still wanted more. Germany wanted more land, but specifically more power in order to prove its dominance. By doing this Germany demonstrated it was becoming a major power and that would compete with the other major nations, such as Britain and France. Germany would also compete with its neighbors for land, if it had the chance. Though it was not common for a European nation to try to gain land from a neighboring country, it had happened before; such as it did in 1783 in the preliminary Treaty of Versailles.
12

"The Anglo-German Naval Race." Transatlantic Ocean Liners & Nationalism. http://www.oceanliner.com/nationalism/anglo-german-rivalry (accessed April 30, 2012). 13 "The Anglo-German Naval Race." Transatlantic Ocean Liners & Nationalism. http://www.oceanliner.com/nationalism/anglo-german-rivalry (accessed April 30, 2012).

Salazar-7 The Treaty later on became to be known as the Treaty of Frankfurt. This treaty was signed at the end of the Franco-Prussian war, a war that mainly concentrated on the countries of France and the German states underneath the leadership of Prussia. This war started because the statesman of Prussia, Otto von Bismarck, wanted to unify the many German states into the now unified Germany. However, the emperor of France, Napoleon III, sought to regain land that was taken away from France due to political acquisitions from other countries, and from the territory lost in the Austro-Prussian was of 1866.14 In the end of the Franco-Prussian war, France gave Germany the ceded land of Alsace (except the territory of Belfort) and part of the Lorraine, including Metz, and France also agreed to pay 5 billion francs, to Germany.15 The ending of this war demonstrated that not even the European nations were safe from each other. Each countries imperialistic nature strived for more, and even though each nation had already established their own sphere of influence, it did not mean it was safe. There were many colonial issues among the European nations that almost led to war. Most of these incidents occurred in the continent of Africa. As I mentioned previously, Africa was carved by the Europeans, due to the Berlin Conference. Conversely, there was a problem because Africa was barely being explored, so, maps of the interior of the continent did not really exist. Without maps being properly drawn, the borders of the territories were not properly defined, which spurred some disputes between the nations. There were four main incidents that almost led to war due to this incident. The first of these incidents was the first Moroccan Crisis, or otherwise known as the Tangier Crisis in 1905. What had occurred in this incident was the colonial status of Morocco,

14

The Franco Prussian War." World History International: World History Essays From Prehistory To The Present. http://history-world.org/franco_prussian_war.htm (accessed April 30, 2012). 15 "Versailles, Treaty of." Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6Th Edition (November 2011): 1. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed April 29, 2012).

Salazar-8 which was questioned by the alliance of France and Britain, by the agreement known as the entente cordiale.16 Kaiser Wilhelm II was not pleased by this agreement, so, he decided to test the newly formed alliance by creating a crisis to demonstrate that the countries would not help each other. Henceforth, the Kaiser decided to make the crisis in Morocco since France had already made agreements with other countries that would allow it to take over Morocco. In response to this incident the German Kaiser went to Morocco, to advocate Moroccan independence. This speech greatly angered the French to a point that almost led to war. However, delegates of 13 nations met in Algeciras, Spain, to resolve the dispute.17 All but one of the delegates sided with France, except Austria-Hungary, which sided with Germany.18 The Tangier Crisis was of great importance because there was an underlying meaning. The Kaiser created the crisis because he wanted to humiliate France. By humiliating France, Germany revealed Frances impotence. The crisis proved that France could not stand up against Germany diplomatically or politically.19 Frances humiliation illustrated the German imperialistic nature. It made the point that Germany was superior to France, because, France could not fend for itself. Even with the end of the Tangier Crisis, Germany created another crisis half a decade later. In 1911, the Second Moroccan Crisis occurred, or otherwise known as The Agadir Crisis of 1911, which was another major incident that almost led to the Great War. Again, a dispute between the French and the Germans arose. In this occasion the French sent troops to the French

16

Herrmann, David G.. The arming of Europe and the making of the First World War. , 42,Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1996. 17 "The First Moroccan Crisis." Your History Annex: Your Personal Place to Experience History. http://historyannex.com/20th-century-Europe/prewwi/first-moroccan.html (accessed April 30, 2012). 18 This is interesting to know because Germany and Austria-Hungary become Allies in the Great War. 19 "The First Moroccan Crisis." Your History Annex: Your Personal Place to Experience History. http://historyannex.com/20th-century-Europe/prewwi/first-moroccan.html (accessed April 30, 2012).

Salazar-9 occupied fez, declaring to be a provisional occupation.20 But Germany felt it was a move that opposed previous international agreements so it decided to send a German gunboat.21 Though Germanys deployment of the gunboat also contradicted previous agreements, like the Algeciras Agreement of 1906. The Germans act of gunboat diplomacy brought Europe to the edge of war again. But the Germans did not care because Germanys primary goal was to claim itself as a great power, which would not be ignored in colonial affairs. Germanys tactic move was also to test the Entente Cordiale between France and Britain, and still assert itself as a great power. But as before, the French and the British remained allies, and this incident actually increased the partnership between the two. Meanwhile, Britain became more aware of Germanys actions while Germany developed a hostile, anti-British mood.22 But as before, the dispute in Africa ended peacefully, with diplomatic negotiations. In this occasion, the end of the crisis granted Germany with part of the French Congo, even though the negotiations resulted as a diplomatic loss to Germany. As before Germanysc actions caused a great stir within the European nations, to the point where war was imminent. Nevertheless, Germany wanted to demonstrate to the world that it was a great power, and wanted to show its dominance over France once again. Nevertheless, this was not the last incident that almost ignited the Great War. In 1908-1909, the Bosnian Crisis occurred, a complicated, international crisis that involved nine nations. What had occurred was that Austria-Hungary wanted to annex Bosnia20

Albertini, Luigi, and Isabella M. Massey. The origins of the war of 1914. 328,London [etc.: Cumberledge, Oxford University Press, 1952. 21 Mombauer, Annika. "World War 100: 1 July - The Agadir Crisis of 1911 - OpenLearn - Open University." Distance Learning Courses and Adult Education - The Open University. http://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/history/world-war-100-1-july-the-agadir-crisis-1911 (accessed April 30, 2012). 22 Mombauer, Annika. "World War 100: 1 July - The Agadir Crisis of 1911 - OpenLearn - Open University." Distance Learning Courses and Adult Education - The Open University. http://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/history/world-war-100-1-july-the-agadir-crisis-1911 (accessed April 30, 2012).

Salazar-10 Herzegovina, but in order for this to be fulfilled, Austria-Hungary would need full agreement of other European powers, especially the permission of Russia.23 Though, at time being Russia, was humiliated because of its defeat by the hands of the Japanese. The defeat made Russia become a second-rate in its image.24 As a matter of fact Russia felt it had to regain its prestige after being defeated by the Japanese, and Russia had just the man to do so, Alexander Izvolsky, the Russians Foreign Minister. Just as Russia wanted to prove to the world that it was a great power, so did Austria-Hungary. In September of 1908, Izvolsky met with Baron Lexa, the Austrianss foreign ministers, in order to discuss their own nations aspiration. What actually happened was that the meeting opened to a dispute, because, the Russians did not release their official minutes of the meeting.25 Because of this the Russians claimed that the annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina would be imminent. Nevertheless, Bosnia-Herzegovina was annexed on October 6th, 1908. Russia felt as if the treat ywas not fully met, because later on supported the annexation but got nothing in return. Nonetheless Russia would not stay down. So Izvolsky, the foreign minister of Russia, suggested that Serbia should receive some territorial compensation to balance out the land. However, Austria refused to even consider Izvolskys suggestion. This angered Serbia because it had been against the annexation since the beginning, and Serbia wanted Bosnia-Herzegovina for itself. There was even talk that Serbia would declare war on Austria-Hungary. But, Serbia received no help from the western European countries. However, Nicholas II, of Russia, decided to meet with the foreign minister of Serbia. In this meeting, Nicholas made it clear that it would give its complete support to Serbia.26
23

"The Bosnian Crisis." History Learning Site. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/bosnian_crisis.htm (accessed April 30, 2012). 24 Kowner, Rotem. The impact of the Russo-Japanese War, 5, London: Routledge, 2007. 25 "The Bosnian Crisis." History Learning Site. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/bosnian_crisis.htm (accessed April 30, 2012). 26 "The Bosnian Crisis." History Learning Site. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/bosnian_crisis.htm (accessed April 30, 2012).

Salazar-11 In the end of the crisis, nothing was really resolved, or even changed, except for AustriaHungarys elevated sense of power. Though, more problems arose from these crises, especially the problem with the alliance system. The problem with the alliance system is that it creates a domino effect within the nations. The alliance system came to be because every nation wanted to protect their oversea investments, such as France did when it made an alliance with England. Even though the two nations had great animosity with each other in the past, they knew by uniting they would be able to feel secure incase of an attack. But, the main problem with the alliance system is that it creates a domino effect within nations, Which means that when a country is defeated, it is no longer protecting other countries were dependent of them. The alliance system was clearly dangerous, even George Washington believed that alliance created a variety of evils, but necessary to keep a nations imperial possessions safe.27 Nevertheless, the European nations did not concurred with Washington, because alliances were constantly made, like the German and Austrian alliance, as well as the alliance Russia had with Serbia. There was also another alliance made, and that was the one between France and Russia. The alliance was strictly a defensive one since France feared a German attack after the Agadir crisis.28 These alliances were a great contributor to the beginning of the Great War, because the trigger that started the war made all the countries, an alliance, and part of the war. It all began with the assassination of the archduke of Austria, so, a war ensued with Austria and Serbia. But with both countries being in an alliance, both of the countries brought their partner countries,

27

"George Washington's Farewell Address." Congressional Digest 55, no. 1 (January 1976): 24. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed April 30, 2012). 28 Kennedy, Paul M.. The War plans of the great powers, 1880-1914. 252, London: Allen & Unwin, 1979.

Salazar-12 Serbia brought Russia and Austria brought Germany, which meant that multiple countries would be fighting in the same war. The imperialistic movement of the Europeans led to the Great War, since it created entanglements, that later on created crises, like the Agadir crisis. This was all due to every nations desire to have more and keep on expanding. But it was impossible to keep up with each other, so each nation had to prove its superiority through completion. Then, these competitions only created feelings of animosity, and led to alliances. The alliances were only made for protection, since it seemed inevitable that a war would arise, and protection would be needed. Consequently, the alliances escalated war to a worldwide catastrophe causing a vast number of deaths. In conclusion, imperialism led to the Great War.

Salazar-13 Works Cited Primary Sources: Albertini, Luigi, and Isabella M. Massey. The origins of the war of 1914. London [etc.: Cumberledge, Oxford University Press, 1952. Blackboard, The Berlin Conference: The General Act of Feb. 26, 1885, E-Reading B085, from History 110B. (accessed April 30, 2012). Blackboard, John Stuart Mill: On Colonies and Colonization, E-Reading B078, from History 110B. (accessed April 30, 2012). Blackboard, Lin Zixu[Lin Tse-Hsu], Letter of Advice to Queen Victoria, E-Reading B076b, from History 110B. (accessed April 30, 2012). "George Washington's Farewell Address." Congressional Digest 55, no. 1 (January 1976): 24. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed April 30, 2012). Herrmann, David G.. The arming of Europe and the making of the First World War. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1996. Kennedy, Paul M.. The War plans of the great powers, 1880-1914. London: Allen & Unwin, 1979. Kowner, Rotem. The impact of the Russo-Japanese War. London: Routledge, 2007. "Versailles, Treaty of." Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6Th Edition (November 2011): 1. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed April 29, 2012). Woolf, Leonard. Empire & commerce in Africa; a study in economic imperialism,. New York: H. Fertig, 1968. Secondary Sources: "Causes of WWI." Scribd. http://www.scribd.com/doc/409850/Causes-of-WWI (accessed April 30, 2012). "European colonial expansion 1820-1939 : The British Empire, Trading Routes and Construction." The map as history : a multimedia atlas of world history with animated historical maps. http://www.the-map-as-history.com/demos/tome05/index.php (accessed April 30, 2012). Imperialism - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary." Dictionary and Thesaurus - Merriam-Webster Online. http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/imperialism (accessed April 30, 2012).

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Mombauer, Annika. "World War 100: 1 July - The Agadir Crisis of 1911 - OpenLearn - Open University." Distance Learning Courses and Adult Education - The Open University. http://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/history/world-war-100-1-july-theagadir-crisis-1911 (accessed April 30, 2012). "The Anglo-German Naval Race." Transatlantic Ocean Liners & Nationalism. http://www.ocean-liner.com/nationalism/anglo-german-rivalry (accessed April 30, 2012). "The Bosnian Crisis." History Learning Site. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/bosnian_crisis.htm (accessed April 30, 2012). "The First Moroccan Crisis." Your History Annex: Your Personal Place to Experience History. http://historyannex.com/20th-century-Europe/prewwi/first-moroccan.html (accessed April 30, 2012). "The Franco Prussian War." World History International: World History Essays From Prehistory To The Present. http://history-world.org/franco_prussian_war.htm (accessed April 30, 2012).