Imperial competition also pushed the countries towards adopting alliances. Image Credit: Paul K, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Imperialism ‘Hark! hark! the dogs do bark!’, satirical map of Europe. ![]() A simple naivety in the potential scale and bloodshed of a European war prevented several governments from checking their aggression. Government rhetoric exaggerated military expansionism. But the British obsession with naval dominance was strong. However, the ‘naval race’ was never a real contest – the British always s maintained naval superiority. Germany in particular looked to expand its navy. It was fed by the cultural belief that war is good for nations. The policy of building a stronger military was judged relative to neighbours, creating a culture of paranoia that heightened the search for alliances. The late nineteenth century was an era of military competition, particularly between the major European powers. It’s simplistic but provides a useful framework. The M-A-I-N acronym – militarism, alliances, imperialism and nationalism – is often used to analyse the war, and each of these reasons are cited to be the 4 main causes of World War One. That event precipitated the July Crisis, which saw the major European powers hurtle toward open conflict. Rather, a delicate but toxic balance of structural forces created a dry tinder that was lit by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo. It didn’t have the moral vindication of resisting a tyrant. Related Articles in World War I Document Archive Sarajevo, June 28, 1914īiography of Sophie, Franz Ferdinand's wife.īiography of General Potoirek, Governor of Sarajevo.It’s possibly the single most pondered question in history – what caused World War One? It wasn’t, like in World War Two, a case of a single belligerent pushing others to take a military stand. Throughout the month of July, 1914, the Austro-Serbian situation quickly escalated to include the Eruopean world powers - resulting in world war.įranz Ferdinand was buried in a crypt beneath the chapel of his castle, Artstetten, instead of the customary burial place of the Hapsburgs, Capuchin Crypt, in Vienna. The assassination provided 'justification' for Austria to take hard action against Serbia. On June 28th, 1914, while riding in the motorcade through the streets of Sarajevo, Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie were shot and killed by Gavrilo Princip - one of seven young Bosnians and Black Hand recruits. By killing him, the threat of his reforms would be removed. was eventually selected when his trip to Saravejo was made public. A Serbian secret terrorist group, the Black Hand, decided to assassinate somebody in protest. They wanted the provinces to be part of a Serbian led pan-slav state, not part of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Some European governments were upset at the annexation, but Greater-Serbia proponents were outraged. In 1908, Austria annexed the provinces outright. The provinces of Bosnia and Herzogovina had been under Austro-Hungarian administration and protection by international agreement, since 1878. The trip also provided an opportunity for both himself and Sophie to be seen as 'imperial.' accepted an invitation to visit the provincial capital of Bosnia - Sarajevo - to inspect army manoeuvres. Contented slavs living within the empire would not be likely to agitate for separation and to join with Serbia.Īs Inspector General of the Army, F.F. Serbia was as uncomfortable with F.F.'s potential reforms as any group within the empire. While such radical reforms might have saved the empire, they were not popular among those with vested interests in the existing structure. was exploring was a form of federalism made up of 16 states. proposed to replace Austro-Hungarian dualism with 'Trialism,' a triple monarchy in which the empire's slavs would have an equal voice in government with the Germans and Magyars. Recognizing growing the strains and pressures of nationalism among the many ethnic groups within Austria-Hungary, F.F. ![]() Contrary to his public persona, he was a very happy husband and devoted father.Īnother source of F.F.'s lack of popularity was the reforms he intended to enact when he became Emperor. He became more reclusive following his morganatic marriage to Sophie Chotek von Chotkova in 1900. His short temper and suspicious nature ensured that truly talented advisors did not last long in his cabinet-in-waiting. ![]() lacked the charisma to make him socially and politically popular. Not an especially cultured man, at times prideful and mistrusting, F.F. The eldest son of Emperor Franz Joseph's younger brother Carl Ludwig, Franz Ferdinand became the hier-apparent following the death of Crown Prince Rudolf in 1889, and his own father in 1896. His assassination on June 28, 1914, provided the spark that ignited the Great War. Heir to the imperial throne of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Franz Ferdinand Franz Ferdinand, Archduke.
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