What caused World War 1? Some people try to say it was one event that caused the war. However, there were several causes of the war. Alliances, nationalism, build-up of military, and the control of land are listed as the causes of the war.

Nationalism is the love of one’s country. This was good except that some people thought they could put the interests of their own country before the interests or rights of other countries. This caused a lot of tension between the countries in Europe. Nationalism also caused the people of some countries to want to be free from the control of other countries. Many countries felt that by gaining control of other countries they would have more trading opportunities, more money, and more power.

 To prevent another country from taking over their country, many countries began building up their military. They felt that a bigger military would protect them. It made them feel safe. It also made them feel like their country was more powerful than others. This made other countries nervous and the tension increased.

To protect themselves, some countries began forming alliances with other countries to help protect them from being attacked by other countries. An alliance is an agreement between countries to defend each other. The two major alliances of World War 1 were the Allied Powers and Central Powers. The alliances were good when a country was attacked because the alliances had to help each other. However, some countries were forced to enter the war because they had made an alliance.

With so much tension in the area, it took one final act to start the war. On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, an heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, and his wife Sophie were visiting Sarajevo. Sarajevo was a country that Austria-Hungary controlled. Another country Serbia thought it controlled Sarajevo.  A Serbian nationalist named Gavrilo Princip shot and killed both Sophie and Franz.

Alliances and the feelings of nationalism and military power all came together. Countries went to war with each other and World War 1 began.

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