The World in 1914

1. Setting the stage for war The World in 1914

2. Don’t write this!!!!! • This note is written in sentences but your notes do not have to be. • As you see this note, practice writing only the essential bits for each point • Also, as I blab about these topics, try to add one extra bit of information for each page (more, if I am particularly interesting that day!)

3. Industry • The world was a very different place in 1914 than it would be just a few years later. Rapid industrialization was changing how people worked and lived. • It was also changing how countries saw themselves and how they related to each other. • More and more foreign policy was dictated by the needs of a country’s industry. • Factories needed raw materials, so the European nations continued to seek out and hold on to their colonies that supplied those materials.

4. The best way to move those materials was by ship. • Therefore, the movement of these goods had to be protected on the seas and oceans by powerful navies. • In 1914, a strong navy represented industrial and military power.

5. Arms Race • Industry meant power. If a country had a well developed industry they had more money and more military strength. • The two most industrialized nations in Europe at the time were (and still are) Germany and Britain. • Shortly after the turn of the century these two countries began building their navies at an alarming rate. • Each wanted better, faster, bigger and more ships than the other.

6. Each of them wanted to have the advantage so that they could feel safe. • This arms race also made each of them scared and suspicious of the other. • In hindsight, we can now see that a war was almost certainly going to be the final outcome of this race.

7. Politics • The political structure of Europe was also very different in 1914. Many countries were still ruled by hereditary monarchs. • In Germany there was a Kaiser, • in Britain there was a King, • in Russia there was Czar (Tsar), • and in Austria-Hungary an Emperor. • In these countries (with the exception of Britain) many of the important political decisions were made by the monarch rather than elected officials.

8. This situation does not always lead to thoughtful consideration of policy and its consequences. • In some cases these rulers liked to show off their power by making threatening speeches and demonstrating their military might. • Other countries found this behaviour alarming.

9. Inventions • Between 1900 and 1914 the world also saw the development of new inventions that would change how people lived and waged war. • The automobile, the airplane and the machine gun (to name just a few) were all created and improved in this era. • Few people understood the effect that these would have on warfare.

10. War • Despite these changes most people thought that the war would be like wars in the past. • They also believed that it would be short. • Many still saw war as a noble and glorious adventure … they were wrong.