The Spanish flu killed around 50-100 million people in the span of 3 years and now, a hundred years later we don't even talk about it nor study it in our schools, what do you think will happen with the coronavirus?

Europe was in a continental arms race, increasingly militaristic and at the height of imperialism and nationalism. This fostered a powder keg of hotspots waiting to blow, and a network of mutual defence treaties meaning that when one blew, everyone was dragged in

More specifically, Austria-Hungary was strongarming Serbia, forcing them to make concessions for access to ports and things like that. This was not popular with locals, and ultimately led some Serbians to assassinate the Archduke of Austria-Hungary, Franz Ferdinand, by shooting him in his car

Austria-Hungary used this as an excuse to declare war on Serbia, assuming it was a state sponsored plot. Russia had a mutual defence treaty with Serbia, and so were drawn into the war. Germany had one with Austria-Hungary, and so were drawn in. France had one with Russia, and so also got involved. In order for Germany to invade France, it opted to go through Belgium, who had been neutral but were easy to roll over. However, Belgium had a defence treaty with the UK, and thus the stage was set and Europe erupted into war

/r/AskReddit Thread Parent