Key Events or Policies that led to the Outbreak of War in Europe in 1914
The tension that was seen in the European countries had been rising for many years. Events that occurred at Sarajevo are the ones that gave rise to a series of events which lit the fuse and an explosion of the First World War. The main event that started this was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. He was to become the heir of the Austro-Hungarian Empire throne. The empire had been made up of very many Slavs who had wanted to break away from it. The Slavs who were found in Serbia helped in fueling the unrests within the empire and plotted an assassination attempt on the Archduke. This was to happen when he visited his wife Sophie at Sarajevo on June 28, 1914. Following this the empire wanted to attack Serbia; however, it had the backing of Russia. The German government joined the Empire and promised to fight with it as it sought its revenge. After Austria had attacked Serbia, Russia planned to attack in support of Serbia. Germany on the other had also vowed to attack Russia. France supported Russian thus war erupted in Europe (Brose, 2010).
Imperialism also acted as a catalyst towards the eruption of war in Europe in 1914.Imperialism involves a powerful nation controlling and taking over the colonies of other countries. Before the war in Europe of 1914, Great Britain had the largest imperial power controlling at least a quarter of the entire globe. Their imperialism was influenced by their world’s large fleet of commercial vessels and powerful navy. Other imperialist countries included France, Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary and Ottoman sultanate. As each of these vast empires tried to expand their empires, they would get into a war with others (Sarkees and Wayman, 2010). The empires would try and expand into territories that would help them get access to trade. These developments in conflicts led to the creation of opportunities for rivalry and tensions between the empires leading to war in 1914.
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Militarism in Europe also played a pivotal role in the War of 1914.Before the eruption of war, militarism was a very significant force in most of the European nations. Military generals led most of the governments or influenced who had their own interest and priorities. In countries that military was not in government, they served as political advisors and ministers in the governments. Militarism fathered a dangerous child known as the arms race. This saw many nations in Europe allocating huge budgets towards new military weapon technological developments. Militarism did not just start the World War; it created an environment that saw it better for countries to engage in war in case of conflict instead of negotiating and diplomacy. Military power was also seen as a measure of imperial and national strength.
The chief cause of war in Europe, 1914 was the assassination of the Archduke of the Austria-Hungary Empire, Frank Ferdinand. He died in the hands of a Serbian nationalist known as Gavrilo Princip who was associated with Black Hand, a military group. It is what propelled most of the European powerful countries into war. At the time, the major powers in Europe were France, Russia, Germany, Britain, Italy and Austria-Hungary. Following the assassination, the countries merged into an alliance with Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungary forming the Triple Alliance, while Russia France and Britain forming the Triple Entente.
Austria-Hungary avowed war on Serbia following the death of their archduke. Austria attacked Serbia and Germany helped in the invasion. It offered Austria a carte blanche or the “blank cheque.” It was an assurance that it would assist it its revenge against Serbia. This was even at the cost of engaging in war with other countries allied to Serbia such as those in the Triple Entente. Austria went ahead and attacked Serbia with Russia retaliating against it. It is at this moment that the two alliances started their war as each tried to protect its partner country. However, the country that should bear the greatest responsibility for the eruption of this war is Serbia. If Serbia had not assassinated the Austria-Hungarian Empire archduke, there would not have ben war. Germany’s involvement with Austria by promising it a backing up against Serbia also channeled the war. Germany would not have involved itself in the affairs of the two countries.
Benefits and Problems of the Industrial Revolution
The industrial revolution involved the rapid growth and changing of the economical situations of countries all over Europe and America. There were innovations in new machinery, techniques and methods by which commodities were being produced. More goods were produced using a shorter time frame and in large quantities. The industrial revolution led to the creation of employment opportunities. The setting up of factories would attract many people who would help I their construction. As the factories became operational, people would be employed in the factories and be involved in the production process. Increased employment opportunities saw an improvement in the quality of lives of most people for they were earning an income. Industrial revolution enabled in the development of international trade between countries. It is through this trade that most of the countries got the finances used in the development of their economies. The countries that had adopted the industrial reforms would export goods that were abundant in their country to other nations. They would also import other products which were not produced in their countries thus helping in increasing the product range within their countries. This played a significant role in improving the quality of life for its citizens. Countries that came to embrace industrial revolution have been able to grow into economic giants even today such as United States of America and others found in Europe (Hawken et al., 2013)
The industrial revolution, however, had its own setbacks with its major one being pollution. The aircraft, factories and automobiles that were developed during the revolution led to the production of huge amounts of fumes that led to air pollution. The chemicals and waste that became produced in the factories also resulted in environmental contamination. Pollution has become a major world problem even in today’s era. With advancements in technology, many more factories were set, and this led to an increase in the effects of pollution. Global warming has been said that its principal cause is industrial revolution. If countries had not adopted it, global warming would never have occurred. In today’s world, global warming has led to major harmful effects which do not have any chance of coming to an end in the near future if countries do not work together and find out a solution (Wilkinson et al., 2007). The industrial revolution led to the development of new products. Some of these products were aimed at improving the lives of people. However, most of them have resulted in the development of lifestyle diseases such as obesity, heart attacks, cancer and diabetes. With the industrial revolution, there are a lot of processed foods that are nowadays consumed by a huge population of the world. There have been increased cases of death caused by these chronic diseases. The processed foods are cheaper than natural foods thus making the readily available to a huge population of the world.
Why Industrial Reform Came so Slowly between 1815 and 1914
Between 1815 and 1914, it saw the emergence and development of the industrial revolution. However, the pace at which it was picking up was slower than it was expected. As it was picking up, it saw increased rates of migration. Most of the people started moving into countries found in Europe and the USA as they sought employment opportunities from the developing industries. This led to congestion of people in the towns and the rural areas where industries were cropping up. There were increased cases of poor sanitary conditions and spreading of diseases among the people. This rendered most of them unfit to do their daily jobs thus most of them did not turn up for work. Absenteeism led to drag in the factories production processes thus slow growth rate of the revolution. The collapsing of large empires found in Europe such as the Austria-Hungarian Empire, Ottoman and the Russian empire also dragged the industrial revolution process (Anderson, 2014).
Most of these empires involved themselves in wars. Wars such as the World War I also affected t the industrial revolution process. Most countries saw a destruction in the r properties and factories that had earlier been set up. As these empires collapsed, new countries emerged. Most of the people started focusing on how they would live in their newly formed countries instead of developing them. Migration of people also saw the process slowly growing as it is the same individuals who worked in the industries that had been established (Bayly, 2004).
In some other countries such as Russia, they had developed trade relations with others nations thus they would export and import products with each other. However, most of the finances that were received from the trade would be absorbed by most of the aristocrats who led the nations.it would not be used in developing the economy. The lack of development is what saw even some industries that had been formed collapsing in the process thus affecting the rate at which industrial revolution as growing.
References
Anderson, M. S. (2014). The Ascendancy of Europe: 1815-1914 . Abingdon-on-Thames: Routledge.
Bayly, C. A. (2004). The birth of the modern world, 1780-1914: global connections and comparisons (p. 115). Oxford: Blackwell.
Brose, E. D. (2010). A history of the Great War: World War One and the international crisis of the early twentieth century. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Hawken, P., Lovins, A. B., & Lovins, L. H. (2013). Natural capitalism: The next industrial revolution . Abingdon-on-Thames: Routledge.
Sarkees, M. R., & Wayman, F. W. (2010). Resort to war: a data guide to inter-state, extra-state, intra-state, and non-state wars, 1816-2007 . Washington, DC: CQ Press.
Wilkinson, P., Smith, K. R., Joffe, M., & Haines, A. (2007). A global perspective on energy: health effects and injustices. The Lancet , 370 (9591), 965-978.
