World War 1 was caused by rising tensions between European powers due to imperialism, militarism, and alliances. Countries formed colonial empires starting in the late 1800s, making Germany jealous of Britain and France's colonies. By 1914, Europe was divided between the Allied countries of Britain, France, and Russia, and the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. Both sides engaged in military buildups and nationalism, increasing tensions, until the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand led Austria-Hungary to declare war on Serbia, drawing the rest of Europe into the war through their alliances.

1. World War 1

2. Imperialism Imperialism is when countries try to expand their influence by acquiring colonies Countries wanted colonies so they could get new goods and sell the ones they already had In the late 1800’s France and Britain had more colonies than most European countries This made Germany jealous, they started acquiring colonies too late and only got small areas in Africa

3. Causes of World War 1

4. By the Numbers July 28, 1914-November 11, 1918 Counting naval battles, happened on 6 continents Involved 21 countries 38,880,500 casualties

6. Alliances Alliances are agreements between two or more countries that somehow benefit everyone involved Many different alliances had been signed between European countries between 1879 and 1914 The Two main groups that formed were the Triple Entente (Great Britain, France and Russia) and the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy)

8. Arms Build-up and Nationalism France and Germany doubled the size of their armies from 1870 to 1914 The navies of Great Britain and Germany were in competition for control of the seas Great Britain created a new class of battleship, the Dreadnaught that Germany would soon copy