hst-1200

Cartoonist: Unknown Creator

Date: Unknown

Context: The above cartoon depicts the volatile international climate prior to World War One. The wood pieces indicate the dangerous political alliances and contested regions that were in place prior to World War I. Center is the Balkans, where the war actually began. The winds that were about to stoke the fire that would be the Great War are 1) the arms race that preceded the war and the nationalist movements that, most importantly, encouraged Slavic aggression. This aggression, displayed through the assassination of the Habsburg heir, was the “spark’ that started the war.