world war i: the great war what makes wwi a world war? the context

World War I: “The Great War”

What Makes WWIa “World War”?‘The Context’

‘World’ Context for WWI

Story of World War I: - well known, especially European side of it [See Textbook pp. 850-70 – interspersed with ‘global’ issues]

Less well emphasized: aspects of war that rendered it of global or ‘world’ significance - previous wars known by :

countries involved (e.g.Russian-Ottoman War 1878)or people (e.g.‘Boer War’) or geography (e.g.Crimean War)

What does it take to make a ‘World’ War?


Two aspects:

- where, by whom war was fought - consequences of the war:

- direct in terms of ‘Treaties’ (e.g. Versailles)- indirect social, economic, political developments (e.g. Russian Revolution- whole ‘Home Front’ situation in Europe itself

[Textbook..]

‘World’ Context for WWISituation c.1900: “Small number states, ‘great powers’ dominated world”

- Great Britain, France : powerful even before industrial revolution

- Russia: ally of Napoleon, industrializing late 19th century

- Bismark’s Germany: industrializing late 19th century


Situation c.1900 :

- Japan: modernizing, becoming imperial power in China [we will only cover small part of this story]

- United States: expanding, industrializing, becoming both regional and global ‘imperial power’

- Intensity of these national expansions, industrial goals and imperialist initiatives: explosive

‘World’ Context: Russia

Russia: 19th century ‘imperialism’- encroachment into China (Qing Dynasty)

- imperial success in Ottoman Empire/neighbouring Persia: in position to threaten British Interests in India (hence Crimean war) –lost but built up military and economy

- defeated indebted Ottomans in War1878: Treaty of Berlin subject Ottomans to indemnities

Russia now powerful enough to insist on its repayment – even before Western Europe’s demands from Crimea!


Social and Political Reforms Effective: Political situation NOT reformed

- Tsar remained centre of power, much like Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II after 1876

- used secret police, censorship, anti-Semitism [“Black Hundreds”] to rule: situation worsened 1890s…


1905: Tsar Nicolas I took up imperialist cause again in Asia

- target: Japan

-Japan: rapidly industrializing like Western Europeans, fundamentally revolutionizing traditional society

-embarking on its own imperialism in China

-[see Video: ‘The Russian-Japanese War’, Resources (under Revolution & Reform’]


1905: Russia went to war against Japan

- far-away Manchuria chosen battleground

- ironically: territory Qing Dynasty worried about coming under Russian influence half a century earlier

- problem: supplies delivered by ship around African Cape

- Easy prey: destroyed by Japanese navy


Defeat lost Russia territory, Nicholas I his throne:

-led to modified ‘revolution’ which, like Ottomans’, was short-lived

-[see Textbook…]


France, Britain:

- losing influence in ‘Atlantic World’

- gaining huge commercial influence in Asia, Africa

- powerful state companies: British East India Company (India, China), Royal Africa Company (Africa) and French Compagnie des Indies (Asia)

By 1900 had translated economic into political power


Britain, France:

- instrumental in weakening empires like Ottomans,Qing, India: similar methods by both countries

- formalized colonial rule in second half 19th century [e.g. Victoria becoming ‘Empress of India’; France in Tonkin]


Scramble for Africa (1880s):

- beginning process of turning commercial influence along African shores into full-fledged colonial control

– Africa became major site for European rivalries and conflict: what happened in Africa, fed back into Europe with political consequences


Germany: from 1890s

-Kaiser Wilhelm investing in Ottoman Empire: infrastructure Berlin to Baghdad railway, military training

-Germany countering British/French rivals with loan offers

- Bismarck: Berlin Conference 1884-5 where Africa was carved up between Europeans

‘Scramble’ set up new sites for conflict!


Germany: also gained position in northern China


United States:

- 19th century established ‘domestic’ imperialism vis-à-vis Amerindians but also Mexico

- Involvement with Cuba led to first ‘International’ foray into Global Imperialism: Spain and its Pacific colonies

- Victory over Spain brought direct colonial control in Caribbean (Cuba, Puerto Rico) and in Philippines


1899: Philippines revolted against US control

- War lasted until 1902 : Teddy Roosevelt declared general amnesty and conflict ‘over’’; sporadic fighting continued

- deaths: over 4,200 American, over 20,000 Filipino combatants

- as many as 200,000 Filipino civilians died from violence, famine, disease

No doubt that US was Imperial Contender

‘World’ Context for WWIRudyard Kipling’s ‘The White Man’s Burden’

- originally published in American illustrated magazine in 1899 under the title “The United States and the Philippines”

- Ironically, US Imperialismbecome Iconicrepresentation of Europe’s“New Imperialism”


Philippines promised ‘eventual independence’ in 1907:- that only came in 1946

‘World’ Context for WWIFrom this overview of the ‘great powers’ -- how do we get to WWI?

- return to the Ottomans and their Western European territories

- Early 19th century nationalism led parts of the Western/European empire to seek independence: began with ‘Greek War’

- involved Europe but also inspired other Ottoman provinces to seek autonomy -- if not independence


First to follow: Serbia-Bulgaria

- with Russian support, Serbia successful in establishing independence

- neighbouring Bosnia-Herzogovinia given to Austrians to administer (1878)

- unifying around language, ethnicity, religion: all Ottoman provinces in West achieved some form independence between 1902-10


Within empire: resistance grew to Abdul Hamid II

- whereas ‘Young Ottomans’ sought westernized Muslim Ottoman regime -- ‘Young Turk’ successors drew on Turkish ethnicity as core of Nationalism - 1908: launched successful revolution against Sultanate

- Sultan remained part of government under new Constitution (‘resurrection’ of Constitution 1876)


But if Turkish language and culture was to define state – what of all the other ethnic and religious minorities?

- late 19th c. ambiguities about influence, control between Europe, Russia and Ottomans left societies volatile

- Instability of poorly defined ‘national’ territories.

- internal conflict accelerated: Bosnia, Herzogovinia, Balkan States ‘reacted’ after 1908 Revolution


But if Turkish language and culture was to define state – what of all the other ethnic and religious minorities?

- internal violence between Armenians and ‘Turks’ accelerated: increasingly bloody conflicts broke out on several occasions between 1889-1904

- resulted in Armenian genocide during WWI


Balkan Wars 1912-13: 19th c. practice of ‘consolidating nationalism’ through murder and expulsion

- Muslim villages, town quarters destroyed: refugees fled

- joined by persecuted Jews

- European observers estimated about half of refugees never reached Sanctuary


Wars reeked of atrocities: account by former Serbian soldier (of his own people)

“..the horrors actually began as soon as we crossed the old frontier. By five p.m. we were approaching Kumanovo. The sun had set, it was starting to get dark. But the darker the sky became, the more brightly the fearful illumination of the fires stood out against it. Burning was going on all around us. Entire Albanian villages had been turned into pillars of fire...


. . .For two days before my arrival in Skopje the inhabitants had woken up in the morning to the sight, under the principal bridge over the Vardar- that is, in the very centre of the town- of heaps of Albanian corpses with severed heads. Some said that these were local Albanians, killed by the komitadjis [cjetniks], others that the corpses were brought down to the bridge by the waters of the Vardar. What was clear was that these headless men had not been killed in battle.”


“As the Ottoman Empire came to the period of the First World War, it had already suffered greater blows than any other combatants were to suffer in the Great War”.

[Historian Justin McCarthy]


June 28, 1914: archduke Franz Ferdinand heir to Austrian throne assassinated by Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo

- Sarajevo part of independent Serbia (outcome of long, bloody wars against Ottomans in 1800s)

- annexed by Austria 1908: ‘Nationalists’ reacting to imposition new foreign control with Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand

Roots of War which followed lay in 19th century struggles: consequences defined 20th century


- given what the region had just lived through during the Balkan Wars of 1912-13: Sarajevo was a continuation of war, not the beginning of new one

And yet for the rest of the world -- it was.

It was “The Great War – World War 1”

world war i: the great war what makes wwi a world war? the context

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