-
Period: to
Franco-Prussian war-Imperialism
In 1870, Prussian chancellery Otto van Bismark sought to unify the northern German states under Prussian control. This worried the french who were afraid that the balance of power would shift to Prussia if the unification succeed. However, the french lost the war and ceded territory to the newly formed Germany. Later on, the french may have had ambitions to attack Germany to regain the territory they lost and to restore their national pride. -
Triple alliance-Alliances
The triple alliance was signed on the 20th of may 1882 by Italy, Austria-Hungary and Germany. The pact promised that the 3 countries would aid each other in the event of conflict between any one of the 3 countries and another great power. -
Franco-Russian alliance - Alliances
After Russia discontinued the reinsurance treaty with Germany, Russian officials were concerned over the potential diplomatic isolation of Russia. In 1894, Russia joined the Franco-Russian alliance with France. This would become the base for the formation of the triple entente. -
Period: to
Anglo-German naval arms race-Militarism
In 1898, the German government, with the support of kaiser Wilhelm II began mass production of large warships as part of their campaign to become a major European power. In 1908, many members of the British public saw the German navy as a threat and demanded that Britain step up to meet the challenge. -
Entente cordiale-Alliances
The entente cordiale was a series of treaties between France and the united kingdom which saw a great improvement in Anglo-Franco relations after many decades of conflict. The English ceded territory to the french in exchange for France giving many of it's fisheries to the UK. -
Period: to
First Moroccan crisis-Imperialism
The crisis began in march 1905 when kaiser Wilhelm II traveled to tangier,Morocco to declare his support for Moroccan sovereignty. This was seen as a challenge to french influence in the area. The conflict led to the Algeciras conference and of the 13 nations present, France had support from each one except Austria Hungary. The crisis strengthened the Anglo-french relationship and strained the relationship between France and Germany. -
Anglo-Russian alliance-Alliances
In august 1907, the united kingdom and Russia signed an alliance, which meant that all three members of the triple entente had an alliance with every other member. The treaty stated that both Russia and the UK would respect each others interests in colonialism and put aside disputes. -
Period: to
Second moroccan crisis-Imperialism
The french tried to take over morocco again in 1911. Unsurprisingly, the Germans were not satisfied and the kaiser sent a gunboat to agadir. The British and french feared the Germans were trying to build a naval base in morocco. In the end, an agreement was reached between France and Germany, with France gaining control of morocco and Germany receiving land in central Africa. The incident brought France and the UK closer, and both agreed to defend each other in the event of a war. -
Assassination of archduke Franz Ferdinand - Nationalism
On the 28th of June,1914 archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne and his wife Sophie were murdered by Gavrilo Princip , while paying a visit to the city of Sarajevo. Princip was a member of a group of nationalists called the black hand gang, whose aim was to push Austria Hungary out of the Balkans.