The Principal Cause of the First World War
The first world war begun in 1914 and lasted until 1918, every nation of the world was involved in this international war either directly or indirectly, with the powerful vital nations being; European nations along with Russia, the united states, the Middle East, and other countries of the world. The war was characterized by the massive loss of human lives and devastating destruction of properties, impacting the world’s economy significantly. However, with all this knowledge, the question arises on who or what could have caused this devastating international First World War? In my discussion below, I am going to answer this question and support my answer appropriately.
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in the year 1914, at Sarajevo, in Bosnia, and an heir to Austria-Hungary remains the only valid answer to this historically frequently asked question.
It is very much right that Archduke Franz Ferdinand’s murder in June 1914 is the principal cause of World War 1. To firmly support my statement, the presumptive heir to Austria- Hungary’s throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, who controlled Bosnia and Herzegovina, respectively, the areas that the Serbians mostly inhabited, hence his murder and the murder of his wife was the efforts of the Serbians to end prolonged Austria-Hungary rule over them, and it was an activity geared towards liberating themselves from the government of Austria-Hungary that for many years had imposed on them.
Archduke Franz Ferdinand’s assassination took place in June 1914, when he and accompanied by his wife had traveled to Sarajevo, in Bosnia, a territory that had been annexed Austria-Hungary, to inspect imperial troops stationed in the place.
On their way to their destination of interest, a Serbian terrorist threw a bomb at them at their open-topped car to almost killing the couple. However, they were unfortunate that very day, as they met Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip, who shot killing Franz Ferdinand together with his wife, Sophie.
Austria-Hungary got very much outraged by this incident, and just like it was the widely known traditions of the system of alliances, a country to support her fellow country in the event of a war, Germany being on the same alliance system with Austria – Hungary, on July 28, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia in her effort to incriminate on the killing of the Austria-Hungary throne heir, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie.
In a few days, Russia witnessed a severe war declaration from Germany, who was also the Allied powers and system alliance enemies to central authorities where Germany belonged. They even invaded France via Belgium, a neutral country, which made Britain unhappy hence her firm decision to declare war on Germany. Consequently, the two systems of alliances, the allied powers, and the central powers, sparked the war against each other, and quickly peace among the great European powers collapsed, culminating in the onset of the first world war in the history of man.
Initially, when Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia in her pursuit to incriminate on the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Russia, France, and Britain lined up for Germany and Austria-Hungary, respectively resulting in global tension or, in other words, World War 1, this was the beginning of the first world war that directly or indirectly affected every nation of the world economically and socially, hence its name world war. The battle was fought both on land, air, and on the sea involving sophisticated war machines and firearms.
Though there are other debated causes of World War 1, Archduke Franz Ferdinand’s assassination in Bosnia at Sarajevo remains the only valid principal cause of the First World War that negatively impacted the economy of the world significantly.
