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The '''causes of World War I''' vary from the immediate (the assassination of [[Archduke]] [[Franz Ferdinand]]) to the underlying (the competing alliance systems) to the remote (the [[Franco-Prussian War]] of 1870-1871). While war may have been inevitable by 1914, the fact that Europe was already balanced on a knife's edge causes responsibility to fall all the more heavily on those who provided the immediate spark, who should have known what the consequences would be.
== The Decline of Old and Rise of New Empires in the Latter 19th Century ==
The late 19th century in Central Europe was largely the story of the decline of the [[Ottoman Empire]] and the rise of the [[German Empire]], which was proclaimed in 1871 by [[Kaiser]] [[Wilhelm I]] and [[Chancellor]] [[Otto von Bismarck]] of [[Prussia]].
== The Decline of Old and Rise of New Empires in the Latter 19th Century ==
The late 19th century in Central Europe was largely the story of the decline of the [[Ottoman Empire]] and the rise of the [[German Empire]], which was proclaimed in 1871 by [[Kaiser]] [[Wilhelm I]] and [[Chancellor]] [[Otto von Bismarck]] of [[Prussia]].