Term
| Why did global inequality rise in the years prior to World War I? |
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Definition
| The Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain and rapidly spread across Europe. Industrialized nations increased their power enormously in comparison to non-industrialized countries. |
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Term
| What were two key reasons for the increase in international trade that began with the Industrial Revolution? |
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Definition
1) Industrialized European nations needed export markets for goods, and new sources of raw materials.
2) Steam power and railroads made transportation easier |
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Term
| What actions did European nations take to secure their dominant position in world trade? |
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Definition
| European nations made massive overseas investments that helped them dominate world trade. |
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Term
| What were two key ways that Europeans maintained superiority over the rest of the world in the decades leading up to World War I? |
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Definition
1) European military strength was unrivaled in the world.
2) Europeans led the way in inventions and new technologies.
3) Europe had the most industrialized and urban society. |
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Term
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Definition
| Imperialism is a policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force.(iMPERialism is basically the expansion of your eMPIRe) |
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Term
| What three key conditions led to an era of New Imperialism in 1880-1914? |
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Definition
Three key conditions that led to an era of New Imperialism in 1880-1914 were:
1) Industrialization
2) The need for new markets
3) European military superiority |
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Term
| Which empire grew largest during the era of New Imperialism that led up to World War I? |
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Definition
| By 1900, Britain controlled 1/4 of the earth's territory and 1/3 of its population. |
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Term
| By 1900, almost 84% of the global was dominated by European nations. This New Imperialism was aimed primarily at which continents? |
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Definition
| New Imperialism was aimed primarily at Africa and Asia. |
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Term
| From a cultural perspective, the period leading up to World War I was marked by what belief among Europeans? |
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Definition
| There was a belief among Europeans in the superiority of European civilization, which featured high levels of education, literacy, scientific and artistic achievements as well as material comforts. |
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Term
| What accounted for the political stability in Europe leading up to World War I? |
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Definition
| Political stability in Europe was due in large part to the fact that the continent was largely made up of stable nation states with elected parliaments. |
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Term
| Due to rising standard of living and improvements in public health, how much did the population of Europe grow between 1800-1900? |
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Definition
| The population of Europe more than doubled, from 188 million to 432 million between 1800-1900. |
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Term
| What ended European dominance around the globe? |
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Definition
| European dominance ended following World War I and II. Europe never again attained the dominant role that it had held at the start of the 20th century. |
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Term
| World War I was a turning point in European and world history. It brought about fundamental and long term transformations for Europe? What were they? |
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Definition
1) The Russian Revolution
2) The collapse of European empires and monarchies
3) The rise of Fascism
4) The end of European global dominance |
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Term
| By 1890, what country had become the strongest power on the European continent? |
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Definition
| Germany had become the strongest power (industrialized, technologically developed, strong military) on the European continent by 1890. |
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Term
| By 1912, which German political party was the largest in Germany's Reichstag (parliament)? |
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Definition
| The Social Democrats, who were Marxists and promoted state socialism, welfare state, etc., and who had the support of the industrial working class, were the largest party in the Reichstag by 1912. Conservative party elite feared their strength and appealed to nationalistic and militaristic sentiments to unite the country behind Wilhelm II |
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Term
| Whose aggressive foreign policy (Weltpolitik) led him to double his military's budget between 1910 and 1914? |
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Definition
| Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany doubled his military's budget in the space of just 4 years due to his aggressive foreign policy, colonial expansion, and naval race with Britain. |
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Term
| Which was the only European country to increase military spending more than Germany or Britain during the period 1890-1913? |
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Definition
| Austria-Hungary increased military spending by 160% between 1890-1913, Germany by 158% and Britain by 117%. |
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Term
| Who had the largest military in terms of number of soldiers among European countries during the period 1890-1913? |
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Definition
| Russia had the largest military at 1,500,000 soldiers. France was second with 970,000 and Germany followed with 760,000. |
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Term
| What country's political authority was held by Emperor Franz Joseph? |
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Definition
| Franz Joseph was the Emperor of Austria-Hungary, a country in two halves, where each half's ruling nationality was outnumbered by national minorities, because Austria-Hungary had multiple ethnic groups within its borders |
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Term
| From 1878-1908, as the Ottoman empire collapsed, several Balkan countries gained independence. Which countries were they? |
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Definition
Serbia
Montenegro
Romania
Bulgaria |
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Term
| Who were the three large empires competing for control of the Balkans during the decades leading up to World War I? |
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Definition
| Austria-Hungary, Russia and the Ottoman Empire all competed for control of the Balkans |
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Term
| Which country annexed Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1908? |
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Definition
| Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1908. |
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Term
| Which two Great Powers were at odds over the Balkans? |
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Definition
| Austria-Hungary and Russia were each trying to prevent the other from dominating the area |
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Term
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Definition
| The Black Hand was a secret organization of Serbian nationalists seeking to unite all Serbs, including uniting with the Slavic minorities in Austria-Hungary |
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Term
| What happened on June 28, 1914? |
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Definition
| A Bosnian Serb, Gavrilo Princip, who was a member of the Serbian nationalist group The Black Hand, assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary. A-H blamed Serbia for the assassination, and declared war on Serbia. This is the beginning of what became World War I. |
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Term
| In 1914, which country issued an unacceptable ultimatum to Serbia? |
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Definition
| Austria-Hungary issued an ultimatum to the Serbian government that was designed to ensure the Serbs could not agree to it. The Serbian government would have to accept an Austro-Hungary inquiry into the assassination of Ferdinand, and Serbia would have to suppress all anti-Austrian propaganda and takes steps to root out and eliminate terrorist organizations within its borders, including The Black Hand. Though the Serbs were told they had 48 hours to respond, Austria-Hungary intended the ultimatum to force a military conflict that they presumed would end with Austria-Hungary crushing Serbia before Serbia's ally, Russia, had time to react. Eliminating Serbia as a political force in the Balkans was seen as a way to maintain peace in the region. |
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Term
| Which country issued a "blank check" in support of Austria-Hungary aggression against Serbia? |
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Definition
| Germany, then an ally of Austria-Hungary, provided a promise of unconditional support for whatever action Austria-Hungary might take to punish Serbia for the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand. The unconditional aspect of Germany's support is why it was called a "blank check." |
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Term
| In 1914, which country mobilized troops to fight Austria-Hungary and Germany in defense of Serbia? |
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Definition
| Anticipating that Germany would reinforce Austro-Hungarian troops in an attack on Russia's ally, Serbia, Russia mobilized troops along its border with Austria-Hungary. |
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Term
| In 1914, which country invaded France by going through Belgium? |
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Definition
| Germany invaded the neutral country of Belgium in order to have a good position from which to then invade France. |
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Term
| In 1914, why did Britain declare war on Germany? |
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Definition
| Britain declared war on Germany, because Germany's stated intention of invading neutral Belgium was clearly designed to give the Germans a powerful position from which to attack Britain's ally, France. Thus Britain declared war on Germany in order to come to France's aid. |
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Term
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Definition
| Historiography is the study of how historians' views on a topic have change over time. It is essentially the "history of history." |
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Term
| Why do historians have different views of the same events? |
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Definition
Three key reasons account for historians having different views of the same events:
1) Point of view/bias - a historian of one nationality/ideology may view an event quite differently, particularly as it relates to conflicts
2) New evidence - Over time, an understanding of events may be changed due to the discovery of new evidence
3) New events - As events unfold, a prior event may be seen as having very different historic noteworthiness. For example, viewing World War I from the perspective of an historian writing after the end of World War II may have a different view of events. |
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Term
| At the time of the writing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, what was history's view of the cause of World War I? |
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Definition
| The nations who were victorious in World War I initially agreed that Germany was guilty of having caused the war. |
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Term
| How did Revisionism in the 1920s and 1930s change the perception of the causes of World War I? |
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Definition
| In the 1920s and 1930s, historians shifted from viewing Germany as responsible for starting World War I, and adopted a "collective responsibility" theory that blamed failures in diplomacy, human mistakes, noting that no one really "wanted" war in 1914. |
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Term
| What was German historian's Fritz Fischer's controversial thesis about Germany's role in World War I, which he wrote about in 1961, years after the second World War had ended? |
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Definition
| Fischer was controversial, especially in Germany, for his thesis that Germany was responsible for World War I and that there was a clear line of continuity between the foreign policy aims of Imperial Germany in 1914 and Nazi Germany in 1939, including an aim to achieve equal standing with the British world empire, if not more. |
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Term
| Why did most Europeans view the prospect of war with enthusiasm in 1914? |
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Definition
| An outpouring of patriotism (love of country) and nationalism (belief in the superiority of one's own country) meant the image of the nation united in a spirit of fraternity and self-sacrifice was immensely appealing. War seemed like an adventure and an opportunity to surrender oneself to a noble cause. |
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Term
| Why did the realities of war turn out to be very different from what was expected? |
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Definition
| What was supposed to be a quick, decisive victory turned out to be a long war of attrition when the "Schlieffen Plan" failed. The 1st Battle of Marne established the pattern of stalemate and trench warfare along the Western Front. |
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Term
| Why was trench warfare so prevalent during World War I? |
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Definition
| Recent advances in weaponry including rapid-fire artillery, rifles, and machine guns made it very difficult to advance in traditional fashion, so elaborate earthworks had to be established to shield against enemy fire along a largely static front. |
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Term
| How did World War I change the nature of warfare? |
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Definition
1) The nature of trench warfare became much more elaborate than ever before
2) New technologies such as planes, tanks, the use of gas, and machine guns
3) Popular views of war and heroism were altered by the horrors of a war of attrition. Criticism of leaders, mockery in the arts, and violence and anger in the arts demonstrated the public's increasing acceptance that their leaders were not so perfect, and that war was not an adventure but a horror. |
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Term
| In what ways did World War I mark the end of the nineteenth century? |
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Definition
| The catastrophe of World War I was a stark contrast to the largely peaceful 19th century preceding it, in which Europe dominated the world, peace seemed like the normal state of affairs, and Europeans could be confident in their nation and region's superiority over other countries. They would never again regain such dominance. |
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