User:Atcovi/AP European History/A Fire Waiting to be Lit


 * 1) What were the great powers before World War I? Which do you think was the most powerful? The weakest? Why?
 * 2) *The great powers leading up to WWI are England (producing 2/3 world's coal and #1 in industrial manufacturing), Germany (after unification were stronger) and the US (producing 35% of world's manufacturing capacity). The weakest powers were France, who were easily defeated prior to WWII in the Franco-Prussian War.
 * 3) In 1897, the German foreign secretary stated: "In one word: We wish to throw no one into the shade, but we demand our own place in the sun." What did he mean? How might his statement be considered his fair? How might someone today criticize him?
 * 4) *He meant that Germany was to become upright and get whatever she wills, despite maybe throwing people away even though it is not their intention. This can be considered fair because historians may believe that a country needs to do whatever it takes to stay prominent and powerful and protect itself from harms way (USA bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan to close WWII). Some may think this is unfair because it is a provocative statement.
 * 5) What were the alliances among the great powers before WWI? Why did the alliances exist and not prevent the war?
 * 6) The alliances were basically pacts between Britain and France, who drew together to prevent Germany's arrogance (who were actively seeking to demonstrate their power on Morocco and seek access to the Congo). Otto von Bismarck formed an alliance with Austria, DE and Hungary in 1879. Italy joined later on in a Triple Alliance. In response, Russia and France made their own alliance. England eventually joined in on the latter alliance after settling colonial disputes with them. No one prevented the war because they thought the only way to resolve the conflict was through war
 * 7) Why do you think Bulgaria was a loss for Serbia and Russia? Bulgaria's independence forced Russia to come to terms with DE rather than making a triple alliance to defend themselves.
 * 8) Why were the Balkans such a problem area in Europe? Do you see other areas in this day with similar problems to the Balkans? The problems majorly stemmed from nationalism. We see this in other areas, such as Kurdistan, who is a so-called "independent" nation for Kurds. This has aroused into conflict, but not as bad as what turned out into the Balkans
 * 9) What was the annexation crisis of 1908? How important do you think it was leading into WWI? The annexation crises of 1908 is what led to WWI. This is because Austria violated the terms in the Treaty of Berlin and enraged the whole of Europe. This also forced many countries to take sides with one and other.