7.2

Question 1

What are the M.A.I.N. causes of WWI?

Answer 1

M: militarism
- Britain and Germany particularly invested tons of money into building their militaries, including new weapons, building their navies, industrializing their military, and heavily recruiting soldiers

A: alliances
- tension between military powers led to the creation of secret alliances with each other that would later create a domino effect pulling the most powerful European powers into the war

I: imperialism
- imperialism caused bitter rivalries over colonial territories and primed the stage for war with rising tensions

N: nationalism
- nationalistic sentiments increased European tensions, especially after the German unification of 1866 and the Italian unification of 1848

People understood that these factors were inevitably going to lead to a war. Frederic Passy noted in 1895 how people were becoming worried about the European stage.

In 1914, the archduke (Franz Ferdinand) of Austro-Hungary visited the annexed Serbia and was murdered by the Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip, who was a part of the Black Hand. Austro-Hungary declared war on Serbia. The previously mentioned alliances then pulled in the involvement of Germany, Russia, Britain, France, and more into WWI.

Question 2

Who was the assassinated archduke of Austro-Hungary?

Answer 2

Franz Ferdinand

Question 3

What was the Black Hand gang?

Answer 3

The Black Hand was a Serbian terrorist gang whose goal was to liberate Bosnia from Austrian rule, as well as to free Serbs outside of Serbia from Austrian and Ottoman rule. Played a primary role in the assassination of Franz Ferdinand.