There were many underlying causes for World War I in Europe, but many believe that there were a few main causes. These causes where national pride among various European people, an increase in European armed forces, Imperialism and the formation of military alliances. Nationalism- The French revolution and the Napoleonic era spread throughout Europe the belief that people of the same ethnic origin, language and political ideals had the right to independent states. When this wasn t given and people who desired to be autonomous where put under local rule, revolution movements started to arise. Many nations eventually did win independence but some problems of nationalism still where present in Europe. This caused tension in many regions in Europe. This tension was an underlying cause of WWI. Imperialism- The industrial revolution in Europe lead many European nations to seek foreign markets. Africa seemed to be where many European nations went to expand their foreign market, this caused many arguments between the European nations who desired colonies in Africa. There was a great economic rivalry between France and Great Britain and between Germany and France/Great Britain. This rivalry was a cause of WWI.
Military Expansion- As a result of the tension caused by Imperialism, European nations developed certain foreign policies and took certain domestic measures that increased the threat of war. Many of these European nations had large standing armies and some of these nations even expanded navies in case of war. This only caused more tension between nations. Formation of Alliances- The increasing tension between nations caused Many European nations to form alliances so that they would not have to be fighting alone in the event of war. The Alliances where the Triple Alliance, made up of Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungry, and the Triple Entente, made up of Great Britain, France, and Germany.