Did the French Revolution cause World War I?

[Harrison N. Kore]

I want to see your thoughts on this at least. The reason that I correlate the two events is because of this. The French Revolution would ultimately lead to the rise of Napoleon, who would conquer much of Europe and Africa. However, his defeat would bring about the Council of Vienna, which established the borders of all the countries in Europe at the time, and that would enrage the nationalistic organizations that were being formed at the time. Obviously, nationalism is one of the primary reasons for World War I, but I want to know what you think. Could World War I be traced back to this event that happened a hundred or so years before it, or was the former caused by events that were more directly related to the time period thereof (~1900s)?

[Izumi168]

Well we can say that. Then again every historical event would be the cause of another historical event in a more recent history. Its a bit like saying Qin Shi Huang unifying ancient China has caused (with a long chain of events and causes) brought about the War in the Pacific, Vietnam War or Korean War.

Isn't the French Revolution also indirectly caused by the Age of Reason or Enlightenment? Wouldn't then the enlightening of western society and thought be a cause of WWI too? Then again I'm not too clear about the French Revolution or WWI, so I can't really dispute if such they can or cannot be correlated.

[dxs925]

thats kinda like that movie Six Degrees of Separation, except with historical moments lol i dunno, i never lived through any of it to really know what it was like, the really little i do know comes from history books or t.v. shows and lord knows if they even print them unbiasedly.

[fullblue]

I dunno much about French Revolution other than execution of Louis XVI and re-establishment of the country which somehow lead to the rise of Napoleon who wrecked Europe like plague.

From what I know the world war could happen because of alliance system, attacking one country means attacking the entire member of the alliance. It was widely believed that the spark was started by the conflict between two countries and the others were jumping in one by one to protect their allies. I do not know how the system come about. If we trace it back, probably it might lead to something even older than French Revolution.

[A.C. ShAdoW]

I think the French could of lead to WWI but not started it but instead more of the assassination. And more of the alliance made from the Europeans that resort to that happening.

[tupac115]

The french revolution could be one of the events that in a certain way triggered World war 1.Its not that far feteched of an idea.Its like dominos one event leading to another.But then again if you think about it,it could just be another fly on the wall.
History books says that the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand,heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne,in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914 was the intial spark that caused World war 1 to come about.
But i think i see your point Harrison,The french revolution brought about Nationalism which is a major attributer to WW1.

[7thstar]

From what I know, history is pretty much like dominoes. An event could lead to another event which in turns lead to another event. It is a chain of event in history. Let's look at WWII that we are more familiar with. Some people blames Hitler for starting it, some blames Stalin, some others blame WWI and so on. It is a set of different events lead by different events that lead to a certain event. History is pretty much a subject of cause and effect, and probably a long chain of it.

[GDXTom]

I agreed with 7thstar that history is like dominoes. History would differ so much on what kind of leaders, heroes, genius, and people we have.

I believed the reason why World War 1 also started is because Germany lack in space, as in there isn't enough room, other than the assassination of the Austrian-Hungarian's throne. It is possible that the French Revolution lead to World War 11, because it started the Enlightenment Age (18th century). What I learned from British Literature, it is before the Romanticism and Victorian Era, which is before Modernism (As that is where World War 1 started).

Age of Enlightenment (essortment source) - The Enlightenment is a name given by historians to an intellectual movement that was predominant in the Western world during the 18th century. Free from feudal obligations that bound peasants and nobles to the land and to each other, members of the new urban middle class sought to develop their individual potentials. Also of significant influence were the scientific revolution and by the aftermath of the long religious conflict that followed the Reformation.

The thinkers of the Enlightenment were committed to secular views based on reason or human understanding only, which they hoped would provide a basis for beneficial changes affecting every area of life and thought.

The end of Enlightenment, and the beginning/during the Napoleon war brought Nationalism - I believed nationalism, in several ways, includes

- Nationalism is the political view that your own country is great, and you believe strongly in nations
- Nationalism is where a country must be united
- Nationalism is the feeling of oneness among the people of a certain country
- To defend its own country through sacrifice.

Science advance in the Age of Enlightenment, while there was a call for pride in one country during Nationalism. It should definitely lead to World War 1. There's other small facts, such as advance technologies due to scientific outbreak, and colonizations; to become the top, you need resources. Well, I know more about the 20th century and rarely know anything in the 19th century and the years before the 19th century.

I have to say that because of Nationalism and other type of patriots, World War 1 began. People joined the military because they are up and ready for this war. Many thought the war would be short. Many thought about defending their own country (Compare the Vietnam War and World War 1).

In conclusion, I guess the French Revolution did lead to World War 1, but did not start World War 1. World War 1 would start because of the Age of Enlightenment, and Nationalism during the Napoleon Era. The Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance in Europe was formed because of how "fearsome/competitive" the neighbors look like + Building more alliance would cause more fear.

In my opinion
Age of Enlightenment - Breakthrough of Science and Concerning of Religion, have ended and would probably lead to Nationalism; Pride over one nation. Although I learned Romanticism from a class, I found that it is also mainly in Germany. Romanticism is how artist feel disgusted over the rising industrial revolution. Romanticism would lead to the Victorian Era, in which people favor money, riches, and outstanding outfits/dresses. In my opinion, how must one nation obtain riches? Obtaining riches is like obtaining power, which is similar to the colonization; demand for resources and power. Aren't the people protesting against total control over rights and the destruction of nature? Well, that is the artist's ideal. Kings and leaders would want to colonize for resources to dominate over their neighbor's power. However, it made people protest against their governments, which actually resulted in abolition, civil war in America, and mutual defense/protection, or something I missed. There should be more history between the French Revolution and World War 1 that I didn't put. I never know about this, and I can't add anything after World War 1 such as fascism and socialism.