Dodged a Bullet.

If Archduke Ferdinand weren't assassinated, would World War I have started?

~I think that the assassination caused the war by spreading war feelings to a large amount of people. It was an attention grabber, and stirred up a lot of emotion around the world. I don't think that quarreling over colonies alone would have caused the outbreak of World War I. Say Ferdinand had dodged the bullet, and the assassination didn't happen... it would be easy to say no, the war would not have started, but I think it would have been just a matter of time. I think some event would have had to happen that caused a similar uproar for the war to start, however.. a war of that caliber would not have started based on previous events alone.

Second Naval Law

The Second Naval Law was a policy of Germany to be equip to take on the Royal Navy. Germany built up its naval fleet to try to match that of Britain's. This became significant because Britain saw it as "an unjustified threat," and Britain, as well as France, was suddenly trying to trump Germany's new and improved naval fleet. Rivalries with Germany heightened as a result of the Second Naval Law. Germany showed itself as a threat to the rest of the world.

"Curiously Civilised War"

John Keegan argues that World War I was "a curiously civilised war" because no major material damage was done. No major cities were wiped out, and for the most part civilian land was left alone. I don't totally agree with Keegan's statement however, because so many human lives were lost. Keegan himself says that World War I "damaged civilization."  I'm not quite sure any war can be labeled as civilised... it seems to me civilised war is an oxymoron. Diplomacy, although it doesn't always 'work,' would be more fitting under the category of "civilised."

The Agagdir Crisis

War nearly broke out when a little German gunboat occupying ocean waters was followed up with bigger warships.Germany clearly showed that it was ready for war. France claimed that Germany didn't have the right for warships on the Atlantic, and Britain joined to support France in this claim.he British Atlantic fleet took a detour to the Moroccan coast, and war seemed imminent. Germany backed down however, and for the moment, war was avoided. The entire crisis seems a bit ridiculous... All of this commotion started by one gunboat. This crisis shows the brewing tensions between nations, and how ready for war the world really was. France and Britain's reaction to the German warships shows how alliances were a major contribution to the start of World War I.