7.2 Causes of World War I

Long-Term Causes: MAIN Factors

Historians summarize WWI's roots with MAIN: Militarism (arms race, glorification of military power), Alliances (Triple Entente vs. Triple Alliance created interlocking obligations), Imperialism (colonial rivalries and competition for resources/territory), and Nationalism (ethnic pride and independence movements, especially in the Balkans). Together these created a tense, unstable Europe primed for conflict.

The Spark: Assassination in Sarajevo

In June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary was assassinated by Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serb nationalist tied to the Black Hand. Austria-Hungary issued an ultimatum to Serbia; Serbia's response triggered a chain reaction through the alliance system, pulling Russia, Germany, France, and Britain into war within weeks.

Global Empires Drawn In

Because European powers controlled vast colonial empires, the war quickly became global rather than regional. Colonies in Africa, Asia, and the Pacific supplied troops, labor, and resources, while Japan and the Ottoman Empire entered on opposing sides, showing how imperial connections turned a European crisis into a world war.

Key terms

MAIN acronym

Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, Nationalism — the four long-term causes of WWI.

Franz Ferdinand

Archduke of Austria-Hungary whose assassination in June 1914 sparked WWI.

Gavrilo Princip

Bosnian Serb nationalist who assassinated Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo.

Black Hand

Serbian nationalist secret society connected to the plot against Franz Ferdinand.

Why WWI became global

European powers' colonial empires supplied troops and resources, spreading the war beyond Europe.

Try an AP-style question

The immediate cause of WWI was…

1. the sinking of the Lusitania
2. Germany's invasion of Poland
3. the assassination of Franz Ferdinand
4. the Russian Revolution of 1917