assassinating the archduke
TRANSCRIPT
Assassinating the ArchdukeHOW THE ASSASSINATION OF ONE RELATIVELY UNIMPORTANT PERSON LED TO WORLD WAR I
Some background:
During this period of time there was much unrest in the Balkan Penninsula
1) As the Ottoman Empire was losing control of the region smaller states such as Bosnia, Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro wanted to either be independent or Serbia wanted them to be part of its empire
2) Austria formally annexes Bosnia in 1908 3) Serbia is not particularly happy about the annexation
Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne travels to Bosnia
He was sent by his uncle, the King of Austria, Franz Jospeph to Sarajevo
He was there to evaluate Austrian Army troop practice maneuvers going on outside of the city.
He capped off the trip with a parade through the city The entire parade route along the Appel Quay road was published
in newspapers
A group of Serbians try an assassination attempt
Serbia gathers a radical group of students into a group called “The Black Hand”
A young man named Cabrinovic hurls a grenade at the open car in which the Archduke and his wife are riding on the parade route
The bomb bounces off their car and explodes under the following car. There were a few injuries
The Archduke and his wife continue their meetings at city hall in Sarajevo
Cabrinovic, who threw the grenade was quickly captured
He tried to kill himself by taking a cyanide pill and drowning himself in the river
The cyanide pill that was supposed to kill him only made him vomit
The river was only a few inches deep so he had trouble trying to kill himself
The Police quickly captured him
The Driver of the Archduke’s car makes a wrong turn on the return route
While the car is stopped, another member of the Black Hand, Gavrilo Princip shoots both the Archduke and his wife
He is captured by surrounding crowds and turned over to the police
So how does the assassination of this person plunge a whole world into war?
It is connected to the long-term causes of militarism, imperialism and secret alliances come into play
The countries of Europe were looking for an excuse to fight1) Austria blames Serbia for the assassination declares war on Serbia2) Serbia turns to the Russians for help and Russia declares war on
Austria3) Austria asks for help from Germany because the Russians are involved.4) Russia asks France for help now that the Russians are involved5) When the Germans attack Belgium the British get involved6) Remember, that each of these places had colonies all over the world
who also became involved.
So what happened to Cabrinovic and Princip?
They died in prison from tuberculosis
Works Cited: History.com Staff. "Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Assassinated." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 27 Feb. 2017.