Why was imperialism an important underlying cause of world war 1

Imperialism was a cause because building an empire needs manpower such as an army and a navy to conquer and keep the land that they colonised. The alliances system meant that a local conflict could easily result into an intimidating global one

Imperialism is where powerful nation rules and exploits one or more colonies. One of the most significant causes of World War one was Imperialism. Imperialism was a cause because building an empire needs manpower such as an army and a navy to conquer and keep the land that they colonized. The big armies became potential threats to other countries and other countries started forming alliances in order to secure land. There is two main crisis that occurred due to imperialsm and these two events lead directly to Militarism. This was a significant cause of World War One.