Imperialism and WW1 Flashcards
What are colonies?
A big country will steal from and invade a smaller country and in the process claim ownership
The smaller country doesn’t have same rights
What is a sphere of influence?
Only for economic purposes
Exclusive trading area
What are protectorates?
The smaller country has its own government but its policies are influenced by imperial countries
What are five motives of imperialism?
Nationalism Political rivalries/military strategy Economics Humanitarian and religious concerns Philosophy of Social Darwinism
What was the Scramble for Africa?
Brought European powers to the brink of war
Held a conference in Berlin in 1884-1885
Drew boundary lines on a map of Africa and established control over the regions
What is direct rule?
The European nation controlled government at all levels in its colony
Believed Africans could not rule themselves and tried to enforce European beliefs
What is indirect rule?
A British governor and council of advisors made laws for each colony
Local rulers loyal to the governed retained some of their traditional authority
Local rulers had limited power and couldn’t influence government decisions
What is militarism?
The glorification of the military and readiness for war
Why did the leader of Germany want war with France?
He played on the fear of being controlled by France. He convinced the southern states of Germany to form an alliance with Prussia for protection against France. He hoped the alliance would lead to political unity and believed a war with France would guarantee that result.
Why did the leader of France want war with Prussia?
France had suffered disastrous foreign adventures and was facing facing growing domestic problems. He was alarmed at the growing power of Prussia and hoped a successful war would save his failing regime
Why did Britain and France want to preserve the Ottoman Empire?
They considered the Ottoman Empire a block against the expansion of Russia or Austria-Hungary into the Balkan region
What were the seven causes of WW1?
Nationalism Imperialism Breakdown in Balance of Power Alliance System Arms Race Stupid Diplomacy (Bluffing) Balkan Powder Keg
How did nationalism cause WW1?
Social Darwinism
Competition/tension
Fear
How did imperialism cause WW1?
Competition
Scramble for colonies
Germany’s expansion to try to catch up with other nations
How did the breakdown in the balance of powers cause WW1?
Unification of Italy and Germany through off balance of power
How did the alliance system cause WW1?
Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy) Triple Andante (Britain, France, Russia)
Pulled nations into the war because if a country in your alliance joined the war you did too
How did the arms race cause WW1?
Industrialization
You needed to build something better then your competition
British vs Germany (war ships)
Militarization of society
How did stupid diplomacy or bluffing cause WW1?
Carried out international affairs in a shallow narcissistic way
Threat of war was used as a political tool
How did the Balkan Powder Keg cause WW1?
Region of Europe (Serbia)
Referred to as Powder Keg because it was unstable
Pent up nationalism of oppressed people
Being bullied by Austria-Hungary
Lead to Russia saying leave Serbia alone
Some Serbians joined terrorist group called the Black Hand and assassinated Franz Ferdinand
Why were none of the nations ready for war?
None of the military or political leaders took war seriously because they regarded it as an instrument of foreign policy
Industrial Revolution changed war because they had new technology but no knowledge of how to use it
Big weapons: Mustard gas, machine guns, artillery shells
What happened in the Spring of 1918?
Germany realized they were running out of supplies. Their last big assault didn’t go good and the reactionary attack pushed Germany out of France
What does Attrition mean?
Whoever runs out of stuff loses
Success was not tactics but not running out
Although Britain didn’t do good in warfare, they had colonies to send them stuff
How did WW1 start the Russian Revolution?
The soldiers were running out of things and didn’t agree with the politics surrounding it so they marched home.
Vladimir Lennon leads the revolution promising three things: peace, land and bread
What was the Treaty of Brest-Litousk?
In order to drop out of the war Russia gave Germany 1/3 of farmland in Russia
What happened on November 11, 1918?
There was a ceasefire
The Germans thought they were signing a ceasefire in that spot, the Allies thought they won
What was the Treaty of Versailles?
At the 1919 Peace Conference, Britain said Germany lost and blamed them for the war. They also set up an unfair treaty.
Caused Germany to give up territory, lose all their colonies, army and navy are limited in size, no airforce, no defences on the border of France, and Germany and Austria were forbidden from joining together
Biggest thing: Article 231, War Guilt Clause. Germany and her allies are responsible for starting the war and thereby responsible for damages and will be billed
It’s the cause of many of the problems post war and would have repercussions
What did President Wilson from America stand for at the 1919 peace conference?
He thought nations should sit down and figure out a way to not have a war
Came with 14 points and came up with the League of Nations
What did Clemenceau from France stand for at the 1919 peace conference?
Life in France sucks and he wants revenge
He wants to make sure Germany is never strong enough to start another war
What did Lloyd George from Britain stand for at the 1919 peace conference?
Although personal he sided more with Wilson, the people of Britain are Anti-German and it’s an election year so he sided with France
What was the League of Nations?
All nations could come and solve problems by taking not fighting
Why did the League of Nations fail?
Human nature
Nationalism
Britain and France used it to only benefit themselves
America never joined because Congress didn’t want to
Germany wasn’t invited
