The World in 1914

    By 1914 Europe had produced a civilization that became a high point of world history. European civilization was imitated almost everywhere on earth and dominated world commerce, finance, knowledge and culture. But the most intelligent, cultivated and sensitive Europeans were not fully satisfied with the achievements of their civilization. As a result the Europe involved in bloody war which brought detrimental effect to the world peace. What may the causes of war in 1914? What was wrong? These things are discussed below.

(a) The rise or nationalism: It is the nationalism that helped bring about the Great War. The sense of nationalism gave the belief that loyalty to a person's nation and its political and economic goals comes before any other public loyalty. That exaggerated form of patriotism increased the possibility of war because a nation's goals inevitably come into conflict with the goals of one or more other nations. Besides, nationalistic pride caused nations to magnify small disputes into major issues.

(b) A build-up of military might: A build-up of military might occurred among European countries before World War I broke out. The so-called nationalism encouraged public support for military build-up and for a country's use of force to achieve its goal. By the late 1800's Germany had the best trained army in the world other European countries followed Germany's lead and expended their standing armies. Due to this military might, Europe involved in war.

(3) Competition for colonies: During the late 1800's and early 1900's European nations carved nearly all of Africa and much of Asia into colonies. The race for colonies was fueled by Europe's increasing industrialization. Colonies supplied European nations with raw materials for factories, markets for manufactured goods, and opportunities for investment. This struggle for more colonies activated for World War I.

(4) A system of military alliance: A system of military alliance gave European powers a sense of security before World War I. A country hoped to discourage an attack from its enemies by entering into a military agreement with one or more other countries. In case of an attack, such an agreement guaranteed that other members of the alliance would come to the country's aid or at least remain neutral. Although military alliances provided protection for a country, the system created certain dangers. Because of its alliances, a country might take risks in dealings with other nations that it would hesitate to take alone. If wars come, the alliance system meant that a number of nations would fight, not only the two involved in a dispute. In a way, military alliances created sense of hostility as a result countries involved in war.

Economic Divisions
The world in 1914 could be divided into four economic zones.
1. Industrial country: Japan, England, Germany, America, France, Belgium.
2. Agricultural countries like Sweden, Italy and Austria.
3. The third zone included a number of countries that had begun to industrialize but was still primarily pre-industrial. Russia was a leading example
4. The fourth economic zone included such Balkan nations as Greece and Bulgaria, the colonial countries and territories of Asia and Africa and most of the nations of Latin America, the group of countries that would be called the Third World.
    Among the above-mentioned economic zones, first and second groups were most powerful on earth. They owned most of the world's capital and means of production. They controlled the world's politics and administration. Culturally speaking, they imposed their language, their customs, their sense of style and design and their cultural and artistic products on everyone with whom they came in contact. To sum up, the first and second groups owned most of the world's weapons, armies' naives and so many others.

The Study of war
    For thousands of years, men have studied war and have considered war to be perhaps the most interesting of all subjects to investigate. Humankind has always feared war and recoiled from its horrors while at the sometime people have been fascinated by the exaltation of war. As we know that for many millennia men and women have admired and often worshipped successful soldiers. The 19th country also studied about war and its aftermath. War was perhaps its leading subjects of investigation and from that intense intellectual work came many inventions valuable for peace as well as war. Alfred Nobel's dynamite is one example. The students of war studied about war and strategies regarding it. They also studied about how to control it. Before the first word war, war and its features were studied on theoretical basis but when they saw the factual war in 1914, they got more benefit to deal with war and its aftermath Freudian concept about war also facilitate to know more about war.

Colonialism: It refers to the rule of a group of people by a foreign power. The people and their land make up a colony. The foreign power sends people to live in the colony to given it and to use it as a source of wealth. The rulers and the people of most colonies belong to different ethnic groups. The rulers also have a more advanced technology than do the people of most colonies. Colonialism dates back to ancient times. The Roman ruled many colonies in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The Greek had established their colonies over the Asia Minor before the birth of Christ. During 1400s, European nations developed vast colonial empires in Africa, Asia, North America and South America. By the 1914, European countries like England, Germany, Belgium, and France had colonized almost every past of the world. In the colonialism, colonized are always manipulated in each and every spheres of life by colonizer. Though there is a form of resistance from the side of colonized but it does not make substantial effect for colonizer. Read More...