Lesson Y9-U02-L02

Y9-U02-L02 The M.A.I.N. Causes of WW1 Quiz: KS3 History, Unit 15

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson Y9-U02-L02, The M.A.I.N. Causes of WW1: 20 multiple choice questions for the KS3 History (National Curriculum), Unit 15: Year 9: WW1 Causes, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. What do the four letters of M.A.I.N. stand for?

    • Militarism, Armies, Imperialism and Neutrality across the whole of Europe
    • Military, Armies, Invasions, Navies and their long rivalry
    • Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, Nationalism
    • Monarchy, Alliances, Industry and Nations under one single crown

  2. What was a 'dreadnought'?

    • A small fast ship used for carrying mail between colonies
    • A type of railway carriage used to move troops to the front
    • A military medal awarded to naval officers after 1900
    • A new super-battleship at the heart of the naval race

  3. From which year did the dreadnought battleship date?

    • 1871
    • 1914
    • 1906
    • 1882

  4. What was the Schlieffen Plan?

    • A peace agreement that ended the naval race in 1909
    • A treaty that divided the colonies of Africa between Germany and France
    • A German war plan drawn up in advance for a future war
    • A British plan to build a canal across the Balkan peninsula

  5. Roughly how many men could Germany mobilise by 1914?

    • About 1 million
    • About 400,000
    • About 4 million
    • About 40 million

  6. Why did detailed war plans make a crisis harder to stop?

    • The plans said that wars could only be fought in winter and so were always delayed for months
    • The plans made it illegal for any country to negotiate a peace settlement with its rivals
    • The plans required all armies to disband once a crisis had begun and talks had opened
    • Once one country mobilised, its rivals had to follow, so war came quickly

  7. A country demands colonies for raw materials and markets and competes with rivals for them. Which M.A.I.N. cause is this?

    • Alliances
    • Nationalism
    • Militarism
    • Imperialism

  8. A subject people demands independence from an empire and rallies behind its own national identity. Which M.A.I.N. cause is this?

    • Nationalism
    • Alliances
    • Militarism
    • Imperialism

  9. What does 'imperialism' mean?

    • Building and competing for overseas empires and colonies
    • A system of government ruled by one emperor for life
    • A promise by two countries to defend each other in war
    • A belief that every country should have a single national language

  10. Which two crises over Morocco brought Germany into conflict with France?

    • The Moroccan Crises of 1905 and 1911
    • The Moroccan Crises of 1882 and 1907
    • The Balkan Crises of 1908 and 1913
    • The Dreadnought Crises of 1906 and 1909

  11. What was the effect of the Moroccan Crises on Britain and France?

    • They led Britain to sign a secret treaty handing most of Morocco over to Germany
    • They ended all British and French interest in overseas colonies for many years
    • They caused Britain and France to break their friendship permanently and fight
    • They drew Britain and France closer together, strengthening the Entente

  12. Which of these was NOT one of the main reasons the great powers wanted colonies?

    • Prestige and status on the world stage for the nation
    • Raw materials that could be shipped home to factories in Europe
    • Trade markets for goods made in European factories
    • Ending the arms race in Europe

  13. Italy was in the Triple Alliance but did not fight for Germany in 1914. What did this show?

    • Alliances were not always honoured, so they were unpredictable
    • That Italy had been secretly allied with Britain in a treaty signed back in 1871
    • That the Triple Alliance had been cancelled by its members in the year 1900
    • That Italy had no army and was not able to join any war at all during the period

  14. What does 'nationalism' mean?

    • A policy of paying the people of other nations to join your national army
    • Strong pride in your nation and wanting it to be powerful or free
    • A system in which the state owns all of the country's industry and its land
    • A belief that all borders should be removed across Europe in a single state

  15. Which empire feared that its Slav peoples in the Balkans would break away?

    • Italy, which had joined the Triple Entente in 1907
    • France, which wanted revenge for losing Alsace-Lorraine
    • Britain, which feared German naval power in the North Sea
    • Austria-Hungary

  16. What did Serbian nationalists want for the Balkans?

    • A German-backed alliance to block Russian power in the Black Sea
    • Return of the Balkans to Ottoman rule under the sultan
    • An overseas empire spreading across the Atlantic to the Americas
    • A 'Greater Serbia' uniting South Slavs free of Austria-Hungary

  17. Why did Russia back fellow Slavs in the Balkans?

    • Russia wanted the Balkans to be ruled from Berlin under a German governor later on
    • Pan-Slavism tied Russia to the Slav peoples, linking a Balkan quarrel to a great power
    • Russia wanted to end its alliance with Britain and France immediately and for ever
    • Russia had been ordered by Germany to defend the Balkans against Italy in 1908

  18. Which M.A.I.N. cause describes the rivalry between Britain and Germany over battleships?

    • Militarism
    • Nationalism
    • Alliances
    • Imperialism

  19. What is the difference between a long-term and a short-term cause?

    • A long-term cause only affects one country; a short-term cause affects all countries in Europe
    • A long-term cause is always a battle fought at sea; a short-term cause is always a treaty
    • A long-term cause happens after a war has ended; a short-term cause happens before it
    • A long-term cause builds up over years; a short-term cause is a trigger

  20. Which long-term cause acted as the 'chain' that could spread a small Balkan quarrel across Europe?

    • Nationalism
    • Alliances
    • Imperialism
    • Militarism

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