The Alliance System

 The Alliance System





 Introduction



 The alliance system first was introduced by Bismarck, the German Chancellor from 1871 to 1890.

 After the Franco-Prussian War, Bismarck held that Germany was a "satiated state" which should give up ideas of further conquest.

 Therefore Bismarck organized a huge alliance system which was designed to maintain   Germany´s hegemony in Europe.

  France was determined to challenge the hegemony of Germany because France had been defeated by Germany in 1871 and had been forced to cede two provinces (Alsace-Lorraine) to Germany.

 To isolate France, Bismarck tried to befriend Austria, Russia, Italy and Britain.







 The Treaties (1839-1907)





<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;font-size:14px;line-height:normal;font-family:Helvetica;"> 1839 - Treaty of London

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;font-size:12px;line-height:normal;font-family:Helvetica;"> All major European powers including Prussia.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;font-size:12px;line-height:normal;font-family:Helvetica;"> These nations agreed that Belgium should stay neutral during any conflict.

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<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;font-size:14px;line-height:normal;font-family:Helvetica;"> 1879 - Dual Alliance

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;font-size:12px;line-height:normal;font-family:Helvetica;"> Austria-Hungary and Germany

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;font-size:12px;line-height:normal;font-family:Helvetica;"> They agreed to help each other if one of them would be attacked by Russia.

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<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;font-size:14px;line-height:normal;font-family:Helvetica;"> 1881 - Three Emperor’s Alliance

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;font-size:12px;line-height:normal;font-family:Helvetica;"> Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:6px;font-size:12px;line-height:normal;font-family:Helvetica;"> The aim of these nations was to get a peaceful Europe, based on the balance of power.

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<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;font-size:14px;line-height:normal;font-family:Helvetica;"> 1882 - Triple Alliance

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;font-size:12px;line-height:normal;font-family:Helvetica;"> Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy were known as the Central Powers and agreed to help each other if they were to be attacked.

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<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;font-size:14px;line-height:normal;font-family:Helvetica;"> 1887 - Reinsurance Treaty

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;font-size:12px;line-height:normal;font-family:Helvetica;"> Germany, Russia

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:6px;font-size:12px;line-height:normal;font-family:Helvetica;"> This was a secret agreement between Germany and Russia arranged by the German chancellor Otto von Bismarck. The treaty provided that if one of the parties would  became involved into the war the others would remain neutral.

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<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;font-size:14px;line-height:normal;font-family:Helvetica;"> 1892-94 - Franco-Russian Alliance

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;font-size:12px;line-height:normal;font-family:Helvetica;"> France, Russia

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:6px;font-size:12px;line-height:normal;font-family:Helvetica;"> This alliance ended the diplomatic isolation of France and undermined the supremacy of the german Empire in Europe.

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<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;font-size:14px;line-height:normal;font-family:Helvetica;"> 1902 - Anglo-Japanese Alliance

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;font-size:12px;line-height:normal;font-family:Helvetica;"> Great-Britain, Japan

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:6px;font-size:12px;line-height:normal;font-family:Helvetica;"> The aim was to unable France to go to help Russia in the Russo-Japanese War as this would have meant going to war with Britain.

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<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;font-size:14px;line-height:normal;font-family:Helvetica;"> 1904 - Entente cordiale

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;font-size:12px;line-height:normal;font-family:Helvetica;"> France, Great-Britain

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;font-size:12px;line-height:normal;font-family:Helvetica;"> This alliance marked the end of a very long period of time of conflicts between these two nations. It was also set up to stop any conflicts about the African colonies

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<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;font-size:14px;line-height:normal;font-family:Helvetica;"> 1907 - Triple Entente

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;font-size:12px;line-height:normal;font-family:Helvetica;"> Great-Britain, Russia, France

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;font-size:12px;line-height:normal;font-family:Helvetica;"> This Alliance was set up because of the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy).

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<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:normal;font-family:NanumGothic;"> Conclusion

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<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;font-size:12px;line-height:normal;font-family:Helvetica;"> The alliance system in Europe served as a major cause of World War I. The alliances let to the division of Europe into two atagonistic power blocs, its degree of secrecy led to fear and suspicion between nations, and it transformed local disputes into a general conflict. Allthough There are other argumets such as militarism, economic rivalries and domestic issues as the major causes of the war, these causes would not been as significant as the context of the alliance system.

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<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:normal;font-family:NanumGothic;"> Bibliography

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<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;font-size:12px;line-height:normal;font-family:Helvetica;"> Graham Darby, 1998. The Origins of the First World War (LonmanHistory in Depth). Edition. Longman. ISBN 0-582-29522-X

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<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;font-size:12px;line-height:normal;font-family:Helvetica;"> Christine Hatt, 2000. The First World War (History in Writing). Edition. Evans Brothers Ltd. ISBN 0-237-52078-8

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<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;font-size:12px;line-height:normal;font-family:Helvetica;"> Gerard J. De Groot, 2001. The First World War (Twentieth-Century Wars (Palgrave Paperback)). Edition. Palgrave Mcmillan. ISBN 0-333-74535-3