Nationalism – Cause of WWI
1. A-H was ruled by the Dual Monarchy, putting Austrians and Hungarians in power but excluding the other numerous nationalities. Slav people in Austria-Hungary were the largest minority group.
a. Resentment towards Aus-H state because Slavs were marginalized, but gaining in number and becoming more nationalistic. This caused internal conflict.
b. Austria-Hungary was antagonized amongst Slavs across the Balkans, this idea was firmly solidified during the first Pan-Slavic Conference of 1848.
2. Nationalistic feelings in the Slavs intensified with the decline of the Ottoman Empire
a. The Slavs in the Ottoman wanted independence and unite with the Slavs in the Habsburg.
3. Russians felt strong Pan-Slavism and the need to support Slavic peoples in the Balkans.
a. This was the basis for Russian support of Serbia in the years leading to the outbreak of war. Russia would support Serbia in case of an outbreak of war against A-H.
4. Furthermore, Russia wanted the Slavs in the Balkans to have independence and so did not want the Ottoman to fall.
a. Russia therefore opposed the expansion of the A-H empire, which wanted to annex the Ottoman.
5. Germany was driven by nationalistic motives under its policy of Weltpolitik, which aimed to give Germany its “rightful place in the sun”.
a. This involved increasing German domination by expanding its empire and surpassing Britain’s military and naval capabilities.
6. Nationalistic motivations rooted from the Franco-Prussian war in 1971 contributed to France’s entry into the war.
a. France had tension between Germany because of the humiliation it received when Bismarck unified Germany in Versailles.
b. Furthermore, the French desperately wanted to regain the territory annexed by Germany, Alsace-Lorraine.
7. Nationalism was sparked in Great Britain when Germany challenged her naval dominance.
a. Germany became Britain’s main enemy after the naval race because Britain wanted to maintain its position as the strongest sea power in the world.
8. At the same time, tensions between Serbia and A-H mounted. During the Pig Wars of 1905-6 a conflict of tariffs ensured between the nations.
a. Resentment already existed between the two states because Serb was a Slavic nation and Slavs across the Balkans were calling for independent. The situation worsened tensions.
b. Austrian tariffs on Serb drove Serb to establish trade with France, thus establishing stronger relations between Serb and France. This would contribute to the obligations of France and Russia to Serbia in later years.
c. These key elements of nationalism created the framework for the alliance system that divided Europe.
9. Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908.
a. Outraged Serbians because they wanted to unite with the provinces to establish a Greater Serbia.
10. Germany and Austria-Hungary were involved in the Dual Alliance since 1879, which carried into WWI.
a. Though the alliance was primarily defensive, the nations supported each other as allies throughout the course of war and their people were united by common Germanic ancestry.
11. Sidney B. Fay states in The underlying and immediate causes of WWI that nationalism,, “in its chronic form of Pan-Slavism, Pan-Germanism, and revanche, it nourished hatred between Germany and her two neighbours on the East and West.”
a. Fay states that nationalistic factors were working independently in France, Germany, and Russia but also joined together to create a greater conflict between the nations. This conflict took form in the alliances that separated the nations.
12. Russia’s support of Serbia and Germany’s support of Austria-Hungary tied other Great Powers to the two conflicting nations.
a. In case of the outbreak of war, France would support Russia according the Franco-Russian Alliance of 1892. This means France was obligated to go to war if a war broke out in Serbia.
b. Britain was allied to France and Russia under the Triple Entente. If France and Russia were in war, Britain would have to support them and thus support Serbia.
c. This is exemplified during the July Crisis, which was triggered by a nationalistic conflict between Serb and Austria, but resulted in the entry of the Entente into war.
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