Germany exemplifies the qualities of militarism, nationalism, imperialism, and assassination that contributed to World War 1. Militarism was seen in the naval arms race between Germany and Britain as each tried to build a more powerful navy. Nationalism became very strong in Germany under Hitler. Germany, along with other European nations, exhibited imperialism in the late 1800s as they raced to claim territories in Africa for economic resources. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary by a Serbian nationalist triggered the alliance system between countries that led to World War 1.

1. M
.A.N.I.A.
oM
ilitarism
o Alliance
o Nationalism
oI
mperialism
o Assassination
Can you think of a
country which
exemplifies each of
these qualities?
Or has in the past?
How about one country
that you can relate to
all of them?

2. Militarism
o
The belief in and dependence on a strong military in
order to defend and expand the borders of a country

3. The Dreadnought

4. The Dreadnought and the Naval
Arms Race





The first of the kind, the British Royal Navy's
Dreadnought, made such a strong impression on people's
minds when it was launched in 1906 that similar
battleships built after were referred to generically as
"dreadnoughts,"
Earlier battleships became known as pre-dreadnoughts.
The Dreadnought's design had two revolutionary features:
an "all-big-gun" armament scheme, with an
unprecedented number of heavy-calibre guns, and steam
turbine propulsion.
As dreadnoughts became a crucial symbol of national
power, the arrival of these new warships renewed the
naval arms race between the United Kingdom and
Germany.
Ultimately this would affect the balance of power in
Europe and on the international stage

5. Militarism & Nationalism



There was a huge arms race in
Europe in the early 1900’s
Britain and Germany were going
head to head to see who could
create the larger navy
All European countries expanded
their armies to try and maintain a
balance of power

6. AL IANCE
L
o
Alliance: signed treaties in which each nation involved
pledges to defend one another if attacked by an
aggressor

7. NAT
IONAL
ISM
o
Nationalism: pride and
patriotism in one’ s nation; in
terms of WWI, nationalism
became aggressive and
subsequently a major cause of
international tension
Hitler

8. IM E
P RIAL
ISM
o
Imperialism: domination by one country of the
political, economic, or cultural life of another
country or region; due to the Industrial
Revolution of the 1800s, some European
nations had a large portion of the world under
their control

9. Imperialism

Many countries of Europe were still trying to
assert their imperialist powers

By the late 1800’s the race to claim territories
in Africa, which was rich in diamonds and
gold, became fierce

European countries often challenged each
other on these issues (ex. Boer War)

10. ASSASSINAT
ION
o
Assassination: on June 28th, 1914, Gavrilo Princip, a
member of the Serbian terrorist group known as the
Black Hand, shot and killed the Archduke of AustriaHungary, Francis Ferdinand in Sarajevo; this is the
infamous “ spark” that ignited WWI because it kicked
the alliance system into effect
Gavrilo Princip
<-
Arch Duke Franz
Ferdinand ->

11. Questions on M.A.N.I.A

1. Give 2 examples of the rise of Militarism pre
WWI. How did these examples contribute to the
outbreak of the War? (3)

2. How did the Alliance system contribute to the
outbreak of WWI? (2)

3. Give 2 examples of imperialism pre WWI. How
did imperialism affect Canada during this period?
Give at least 2 examples. (4)