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  • Submitted By: vviki
  • Date Submitted: 07/11/2008 1:54 AM
  • Category: Social Issues
  • Words: 968
  • Page: 4
  • Views: 489

Europe avoided major wars in the 100 years before World War 1 began. In the 1800's, an idea swept across the continent that helped bring about the Great War.It was Nationalism - the belief that loyalty to a person's nation and its political and economic goals come before any other countrie's. During the 1800's nationalism became popular for the people who shared a common language, history, or culture. They began to view themselfes as supirieor. Nationalism led to the creation of two new powers:Italy and Germany. through the uniting of many small states. War had a major role in achieving nation strength in Italy and Germany. But also nationalism weakened the eastern European Countries of Austria,Hungary, Russia, and Turkey. They ruled many national groups that urged for independence. The Balkan Peninsula or the "Powder Keg of Europe" because tensions there threatened to start a major war. Rivalry for control of the Balkans added to the tensions that erupted into World War 1.

Building Military strength occurred among European countries before World War 1 broke out. Nationalism encouraged public support for military buildups and for a country's use of force to reach its goals. By the late 1800's, Germany had the best trained army in the world. In 1898 Germany began making a naval force that was big enough to challenge the British navy. In 1906, the British navy launched the Dreadnought, the first modern battleship. The Dreadnought had greater firepower that any other ship of its time. Germany rushed to construct on just like it. Advances in technology helped aid in making military forces stronger. Machine guns and other new weapons fired more accurately and more rapidly that earlier weapons. By the end of the 1800's, technology enabled countries to fight longer and bear greater losses that ever before.

A Group of Alliances gave European powers
a sense of security before World War 1.They formed these alliances with eachother for protection and to guarente that...

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