Lemme input some school stuff in here so that this chat seems accdemical:
Background to World War I
- Britain (#1 in 19th century)
-
was the strongest industrial power since the Industrial Revolution
-
was the strongest naval power since the defeat of Napoleon (1815)
-
was the largest colonial empire in which “the sun never sets”
- France
-
was defeated in the Franco-Prussian War (1970-71)
-
lost land around Alsace-Lorraine in northeastern France
-
felt humiliated and wanted to take revenge on Germany
- Germany
-
was victorious in the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71)
-
Prussia unified all German states and was renamed Germany
-
was ambitious in developing both the army and the navy
-
has colonial conflicts with France over Morocco in North Africa
- Austria-Hungary
-
was a multiracial, multicultural empire in Central Europe
-
favoured expansion into the Balkan peninsula
-
was friendly with Germany but hostile to Russia
- Russia
-
was a “big bear” in Europe, Asia, Siberia and the Arctic
-
had the largest land and army in the world
-
protected the Orthodox Christians on the Balkan peninsula
-
was hostile to both Austria and Japan
- America (#1 in 20th century)
-
was a growing industrial power since the Westward Movement in the American West - California Gold Rush
-
adopted an isolationist policy and was not interested in European affairs
-
was about to replace Britain to be the strongest country on earth and to assume leadership in Europe
- Italy
- the once had been glorious Roman Empire and the rich Renaissance
over
-
was the weakest of the European powers
-
had colonial conflicts with France over Tunisia in North Africa
- Turkey
-
The once powerful Ottoman Empire declined
-
Many Balkan states gained independence from Turkish rule since 1878 at the Congress of Berlin
-
It was nicknamed "The Sick Man of Europe”
