Was rivalry between Germany and Britain the major cause of war in 1914? The direct cause of the First World War, the spark that set it off in other words, was the assassination of the Austrian archduke Francis Ferdinand, who was heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, and his wife by a Serbian student in Sarajevo in June 1914. A month later Austria declared war against Serbia. This local warfare brought Russia, Germany and France straight into fight, and in the end got other European Powers such as Britain, and even Japan and America involved thus became a world wide armed conflict. There are many arguments that have been made among historians about grounds of such war. So many theories have been found, and discussed for decades. Yet the controversy has not seen its end and is still growing. Imperialism, militarism, rise of nationalism, and the alliance systems are often named as the major causes. However, when historians come to discuss militarism on this subject, their theme tends to be based around whether or not a sense of rivalry between Germany and Britain was one of the primary causes. The purpose of this paper is answering the essay question above by examining the Anglo-German relations before 1914, and its significance on outbreak of the war. Before start, it should be made clear what it is meant by the words "major cause" in the title above. Examiner's use of the word "major" can be vague. Does she mean the major cause as the factor that has direct and decisive impact upon the incident? If so, the answer to this question is no. The war did not arise originally from between Germany and Britain, and reason for them to join the war, on the surface, appeared to be alliances with the other countries involved. Yet, there is other interpretation of the word can be made. If what she means applies to background movement that tensed international relation towards 1914, it is debatable that political or economical situations betwee...
