![]() This brought the British Empire vast wealth, but not all of its citizens were able to share in it. The Royal Navy policed the waves so that its merchant ships could trade across the globe. The lifeblood of the British Empire was the sea. The Briton was the world's merchant sailor, his flag encircled the globe sixty percent of the vessels on any ocean were his. I mean it's so big that every fourth person on earth owes its allegiance to the British crown. Rather than a war in Europe, Britain was primarily occupied with its own internal affairs.Īs the 20th century dawned Britain is one of the greatest powers on earth, it rules over this vast global empire. When people ask how the First World War began it's often couched in terms of a domino effect, a series of events that were almost preordained, but what I would say is that if anyone had suggested in June 1914 in Britain that World War might be about to break out and they would be met with disbelief really.īritain hadn't fought a war on the continent since the final defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo, 99 years previously. Well before we answer those questions a reminder to subscribe to the Imperial War Museums Youtube channel for more videos just like this every two weeks. So what happened? How did a seemingly irrelevant local conflict in southeast Europe become a World War? And why did Britain decide to get involved? ![]() The world watched with bated breath as Europe marched to war. Now just a few weeks later, the continent's largest armies were mobilizing against each other with new nations joining the fight seemingly every week. ![]() Just weeks before Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, had been assassinated in Sarajevo by a Serbian-backed terrorist. Europe's leaders were willing to go to war to defend or extend national interests and their choices were shaped by a combination of long and short-term foreign policy goals, political pressures at home, previous crises, and the system of opposing alliances that had developed over the previous 35 years.īy the summer of 1914, Europe was in a crisis. The decisions for war were made in the context of growing nationalism, increased militarism, imperial rivalry and competition for power and influence. These actions reflect the fears, anxieties and ambitions of the European powers. Germany's violation of Belgian neutrality and British fears of German domination in Europe brought Britain and its empire into the war on 4 August. Germany declared war on Russia on 1 August and France on 3 August. Russia's support of Serbia brought France into the conflict. During the crisis that followed, Europe's leaders made a series of political, diplomatic and military decisions that would turn a localised conflict in south-east Europe into a global war.Īustria-Hungary, with German encouragement, declared war on Serbia on 28 July. On 28 June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife were assassinated by a Serbian-backed terrorist.
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