Imperialism The practice of Imperialism leading up to WWI was more like a pre-Christmas shopping frenzy and the list of countries involved was long. Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Belgium and Spain all frantically tried to lay claim to as much of Africa as they could. It was an all out race to control of the riches that Africa had to offer and perhaps even more important control of the Suez canal, the key to the lucrative markets of Asia. It was a virtual capitalist melee, which none of the countries of Europe could afford to ignore but when the dust settled, the power brokers of the African continent were Britain, France and Germany.
Britain's interests in Africa were mainly with maintaining control of the Suez Canal, which was the gateway to their markets in Asia. Without access to these markets Britain's economy would be significantly harmed. France's interests in Africa were financially motivated as well, seeing Africa as a pool of resources that were there for the taking, not unlike the way they saw North America two centuries earlier. Germany, a newcomer on the world stage, simply wanted to get its own fair share of the geopolitical pie and Africa was about all that was left to lay claim to.
Although Imperialism probably wasn't a perceivable cause of WWI, for the average European it was defiantly a factor in the political decision to go to war. German leaders couldn't have helped but dream of all they could lay claim to - if they were to defeat France and Britain in a war on the European continent. Conversely, think of the concern that the leaders of France and Britain felt with the prospect of losing their strangle hold on the world economy if Germany defeated them.
The Old World order was at risk and those with the power were not about to give it up to a neophyte nation called Germany.
Militarism Militarism can simply be defined as the act of preparing for war and in the years leading up to WWI all the nations of Europe were gearing up for the inevitable. There were two countries however that out-paced all the others in those preparations; those two countries were Britain and Germany.
In the late 1800's early 1900's Britain was the undisputed powerhouse on the world stage having the biggest Empire and a navy to match. They had been virtually unchallenged for the better part of a century other than the odd skirmish in the colonies, which for the most part were more annoyances than serious challenges to their position in the world.
Germany on the other hand had only been a unified nation since 1871, but had made some significant inroads on the way to unification, defeating the Danish, Austrians and French in wars over political influence. They even managed to grab Alsace and Lorraine from the French in 1871, something the French were not at all pleased with.
If Germany's military successes on the continent backed by a large skilled army weren't enough to move Britain to bolster their military, Kaiser Wilhelm II's program to build the biggest navy in the world made the Brits stand up and take notice. At this point in history, a country's navy was the key to controlling the world. If Britain were to lose their supremacy at sea, they would be sure to lose their political influence and power in world affairs. It was this threat to Britain's position as the world's greatest empire; and Germany's determination to knock Britain from that position, which fuelled the massive military build up that preceded WWI.
