Calvi's Essay on WWI

What made WWI

World War I could best be described as the war that finally drew a steady map of Europe. For eons, since the death of the Roman Empire, Europe had been something akin to a large dish of water. Nations and empires, whether it be the Holy Roman Empire, the states of Italy, or Napoleon’s conquered territories, floated around in this dish, swelling in shrinking to fill up different portions of the map. As a result wars between two nations were frequent as the different floating states would collide into one another and each would try to gain the same territory. Europe was in a constant state of friction, each nation rubbing against another.
It’s impossible to point out what factors exactly led to WWI breaking out. Saying that it was all Gavrillo Princep’s fault is just not correct. However it is possible to accurately say what WWI represented. In my esteemed opinion, I believe that WWI was a rebellion within Europe of Sorts. Nations that had previously been either occupied or regarded as redundant (Serbia, Italy, and Russia) were now moving against the dominant powers (Germany, Great Britain, Austro-Hungary.) These punk nations, fresh in the state of independence and relevancy, picked fights with nations much bigger and more powerful than them, feeling for the first time that they had a chance to stand up against the set powers in Europe. Whether it be when the Serbs marched against Austrian troops in the Balkans, when the Italians stormed Izonzo to claim land they felt was theirs, or when the Turks defended themselves from the Anglo invasion; WWI was the war of sticking it to the man.