The Growth of Imperialism
During the 1900s, the want for more land and more power increased. Already, many countries were allied, with Britsin being the main power. There was a strong feeling of Imperialism.
In the late 1800s, many countries moved as fast as possible to recieve all of the land in Africa. This rush for land was called the Scramble for Africa.
In the scramble for Africa, Europe fared very well economically. Germany and all of the other central powers did not do as well. This caused early anti-British sentiments, which were topped on the Battle of the Navies. When Germany took land in Africa, Europe would take more, and vice versa. There were commercial interests that fueled this conflict too.
Not only were there fights over land, but also included were fights over trade routes and railways. A significant example would be the Berlin Baghdad railway, which was taken over from the Germans by Britain. This railway gave the owner transportation to Iraq, therefore giving them access to the Iraqi oil.
Not only was there a feud between the Germans and the British, but there was a feud of the same nature between the Ottoman Empire and the Soviet Union. There were also feuds between many other countries that did not participate in World War One.
The scramble for Africa caused many negative feelings between countries, since in most cases the country who gained the most land was the country who fared the best economically. Some countries left the allies, and others left the central powers. These arguements and fights were just the beginning of World War I.
In the scramble for Africa, Europe fared very well economically. Germany and all of the other central powers did not do as well. This caused early anti-British sentiments, which were topped on the Battle of the Navies. When Germany took land in Africa, Europe would take more, and vice versa. There were commercial interests that fueled this conflict too.
Not only were there fights over land, but also included were fights over trade routes and railways. A significant example would be the Berlin Baghdad railway, which was taken over from the Germans by Britain. This railway gave the owner transportation to Iraq, therefore giving them access to the Iraqi oil.
Not only was there a feud between the Germans and the British, but there was a feud of the same nature between the Ottoman Empire and the Soviet Union. There were also feuds between many other countries that did not participate in World War One.
The scramble for Africa caused many negative feelings between countries, since in most cases the country who gained the most land was the country who fared the best economically. Some countries left the allies, and others left the central powers. These arguements and fights were just the beginning of World War I.
The Alliances
In the picture below, the countries in green are the allied powers before the war, and the countries in orange were the Central Powers.
In this next picture, these were the major alliances when land was taken.
As you can see, on the left is Germany, Italy, and Austria-Hungary, while on the right is Russia, France, and Britain.