A Brief History of the First World War

This book uses the commonly accepted abbreviation "World War I" for the First World War. At the beginning of the twentieth century, capitalist nations were entering their ultimate stage: imperialism. This transition gave rise to widespread, irreconcilable conflicts. The colonies and semi-colonies of Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Oceania had largely been carved up by the great powers. As old and new colonial rivalries intensified, and imperialist economies developed unevenly under an unequal world order, a global imperialist war erupted over the redistribution of the world and the struggle for global hegemony. The war was fought mainly between the Central Powers and the Allied Powers.