4 MAIN Causes of World War I Explained

World War I had 4 MAIN Causes - M.A.I.N. is also a handy acronym to remember those causes: Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, and Nationalism. Here, we'll also break down immediate and underlying causes of events. Even though the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by Gavrilo Princip of the Black Hand is often seen as the event that triggered the First World War, other underlying causes created the environment that allowed that spark to set off the war.

0:00 MAIN Causes of WWI
0:14 Militarism
2:13 Alliances
3:45 Imperialism
5:08 Nationalism

For a closer look at Nationalism, you can check out my three part series on Nationalism here:    • Nationalism  

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Sources:

Gardner, Robert, Daniel J. McDevitt, Margaret Hoogeveen, and Angus L. Scully. Exploring Nationalism. Toronto, ON: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 2008.

Martel, Gordon. 2008. Origins of the First World War: Revised 3rd Edition. 3rd ed. London, England: Routledge.

Image Sources:

Alliance Map, By historicair (French original)Fluteflute & User:Bibi Saint-Pol (English translation) - Translated in English from French SVG Map_Europe_alliances_1914-fr.svg, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...

Admiral von Tirpitz, By Bundesarchiv, Bild 134-C1743 / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...

Concert of Europe Map, By Alexander Altenhof - Own work. hierry Lentz: 1815. Der Wiener Kongress und die Neugründung Europas, Siedler Verlag, München 2014, ISBN 978-3-8275-0027-4, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...

Map of the German Reich, By Deutsches_Reich1.png: kgbergerderivative work: Wiggy! (talk) - Deutsches_Reich1.png, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...

Schlieffen Plan, By Lvcvlvs - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...