At the dawn of the 20th century, Europe was a powder keg ready to explode. New and old imperial interests, Balkan tensions, and internal crises of empires created the perfect storm. At the heart of it all was young Gavrilo Princip, a member of the secret society Black Hand, who on June 28, 1914, in Sarajevo, shot the Austro-Hungarian heir Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie. This act, clumsy and lucky as it was, triggered a chain reaction that led to the First World War.
Europe was brimming with tension. Great powers like Britain and France fought over colonies, while the Balkans simmered with unrest and dissatisfaction. Russia was ruled by an incompetent leader, and Germany had an angry emperor. Within Austro-Hungary, peoples demanded more autonomy and decentralization. Franz Joseph I had ruled for 50 years, and his successor, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, was known for his conservative views and love of the military.
In Bosnia, dissatisfaction with Austro-Hungarian occupation grew. Many wanted Bosnia to join Serbia. Gavrilo Princip, a young man from Bosnia, was part of the secret Black Hand organization planning the assassination. During a military parade in Sarajevo, assassins attempted to kill Ferdinand. Nedeljko Čabrinović threw a bomb but missed. Later, when Ferdinand went to visit the wounded, he accidentally encountered Princip, who seized the opportunity and shot him and his wife, killing them both.
Princip was arrested and sentenced to 20 years in prison but died of tuberculosis in 1918. Though the assassination was clumsy, it set off a chain reaction of war declarations that plunged Europe into the First World War. Borders changed, empires fell, and the history of the Balkans and the world was forever altered.
Think history is boring? Think again! This event proves one bullet can change the world. So, what do you think – was Princip a hero or a terrorist? Drop a comment and stir the pot!
