E-Answer.Net

According to the 1873 Treaty of Berlin, the small state of Serbia was given independence from the Ottoman Empire. Austria-Hungary occupied Bosnia and Herzegovina, next to Serbia under the same treaty.

In 1903, the army killed King Alexander and Queen Draga of Serbia. The new rulers were more nationalistic and Serbia started moving to claim a empire.

Serbia had a series of disputes with Austria-Hungary as their cordial relationship cooled. After Austria officially annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina from the Ottomans, which started the Bosnian crisis, Serbia protested about Austria.

Serbians started assinating important Austrians. They wanted to free Bosnia and annex it as part of Serbia because Bosnia had a large population of Serbs.

On June 28th, 1914, Gavrilo Princip was part of 5 conspirators plannining to kill Archduke Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian-Hungarian throne. Princip was part of the Black Hand, an orginazation, that was very Serbian nationalistic, and wanted to free the Bosnian Serbs from Austrian-Hungarian rule.

Ironically, the man Princip assassinated, Archduke Ferdinand was a very vocal supporter of Bosnian Serbs.

Serbia, in 1914 was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. An organization known as the Black Hand saw this as an opportunity to strike a blow at the emperor. The assassins were supposed to kill themselves after the deed but did not. The first attempt, or first shot failed and the Archduke sped his car to the hospital where some of the casualties were taken, those who had been hurt by a bomb used in the attempt. As his car came down a street, one of the assassins saw it and shot him.

It was a terrorist plot organized by Serbia. Franz Ferdinand, when he came to the throne, would have made reforms in the political structure of the Empire that would have reduced nationalistic asspirations.



As with most terrorists, they had little regard for the outcome of their actions.

firstly, 90% of the answers are completely wrong, and secondly, it was because the minorities in austria-hungary had been trying to free themselves from the foriegn rule and oppresion and wanted independence, and so were supported by serbia who wanted a greater serbia. he was assassinated so that the other nation in the empire (croats, slovenes, montenegrins, macedons) could move closer towards political autonomy

Serbia and the Austro Hungarian Empire were not getting along too well and there was a war between the two in 1913. In order to strive for a cease fire , the Archduke went to Sarejevo where the Serbian anarchist Gavrillo Peincip assassinated the archduke Ferdinand and his wife.

First of all, as a European History student myself I am always amazed to see a question like this on YA....Why not look in a book? Oh well, I'm old fashioned I guess....You could google it.



OK, I'm sorry...The answer is, Austria was in control of a geographic region that was home to a large number of Serbian people...The killer was a Serb who wanted a separate state for Serbs and he was also reported to be a bit of a crazy that's why he did it....the alliances of the European states at that time put peer pressure of the kings, etc. to start WWI. That is the super condensed version.

Ferdinand was the leader of Austro-Hungry and he had annexed to Slavic countries right next to Serbia, and everyone knew that it was Serbia he was going to take next.

So a group of Serbian assassins called the Black Hand sent 5 men to kill him.

Not knowing that this would begin WWI

The Austrians were getting ready to attach the Serbians. Serbia wanted independence and the Austrians were making the Serbians miserable. Austrians were in essence annexing the Serbians into their empire. No one likes to be annexed without a voice.

hello. the persons in the Hungary side of 'Austro-Hungarian Empire' disliked the idea of being with Austria, they assassinated him.

Well, the Black Hand, an Serbian assasination group was sent out for him, so if you look them up, it will probably show the source of the matter. (they wanted to unite the parts annexed by A-H).

It was a political assassination because the Serbs wanted independence from Austria although the murderer was a Bosnian

He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. As heir to the Austrian throne, he was the victim of a crazed Serbian nationalist.

Serbian nationalists didn't want their land to be a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire anymore, so they shot the Archduke.

I recall my history lesson saying that it was done by Serbian nationalists who wanted part of Hungary to suceed and join Yugoslavia.

He was fool enough to ride in an open car in a city that didn´t want to be part of his empire. It´s like Bush going out in a car in Bagda!

Yes, I think so.Sounds familiar...

So World War I would start.

Because this would give the world a trigger to start WW1

Why not? He was not all that special.