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Nationalism as a cause of World War 1 Harvard
Nationalism as a cause of World War 1 Harvard
Nationalism as a cause of World War 1 Harvard
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The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand is one of the most well-known events in history. It was the trigger that catapulted countries across Europe into the infamous World War I. And yet, even with the murder’s fame, most people do not think about the fact that it was unnecessary. Archduke Ferdinand was unjustly killed by Gavrilo Princip because the assassin was part of a terrorist group that favored a union between Bosnia-and-Herzegovina and Serbia instead of Austria-Hungary. However, some Bosnian-and-Herzegovinians believed that by assassinating the archduke, they would be able to get others to fight against the Habsburg ruler. June 28th, 1914 was a day that predicted doom for Archduke Ferdinand. It was the anniversary of the 1389 …show more content…
First of all, he was the heir to the throne, not the actual emperor. Therefore, he did not have much power to make any executive decisions. That means that any reasons that the Serbs had to be mad at Austria Hungary were not the Archduke’s fault. Secondly, Ferdinand was not an average royal. He married for love, not for power. In fact, his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, was believed by his family a much lower rank than he, and was rarely allowed to be seen with the Archduke (McVey 2). Additionally, their children were denied succession to the throne because of Sophie’s position (McVey 3). Considering these facts, Archduke Ferdinand’s last words of “Sophie dear, Sophie dear, don’t die. Stay alive for our children” shows that he was the opposite of an evil, self-adoring royal (Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. History 15). Lastly, Ferdinand wanted to unify the Habsburg Empire (Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. History 9). He knew that nationalism was important and tried to promote it. He did not care about the expansion of Austria Hungary. A quote from “A Tale of Two Cars” by David McVey about the Archduke says, “he had not been enthusiastic about the acquisition of Bosnia-Hercegovina and did not share the zeal of many of his officials to further subdue the Balkans”. Conrad von Hotzendorf, the military chief of Austria, had urged the Archduke to invade Serbia 25 times in 1913, but that Ferdinand was smart
King Ferdinand and Isabella are known as one of the most famous couples in the world. Isabella who was the daughter of King John II of Castile and Ferdinand was the son of King John I of Aragon were married to create unity between the two kingdoms. At the time of their marriage the spanish moors were in control of a big chunk of Spain.
The group the black hands is often and quite accurately called responsible for the assassination of archduke ferdinand, though the group had been influenced by Nationalism. The members of this said terrorist group, had been influenced by nationalism through policy that had been inflicted on them by the Austrian-Hungarian empire. The assassination was why Austrian-Hungarian had to go to war against Serbia because it’s an act of breaking their treaty of 1990 with the Austrian-Hungarian empire, but first Austria-Hungary had given them an ultimatum. Which was basically a statement of demands made to Serbia, that if they didn’t abae then Austria-Hungary would attack them. Then all the allied countries with either side joined in as to prove how willing they were to die for their countries, this was true for them a few weeks or so after the beginning of the war when it actually had become more than just allies to either Serbia or Austria-Hungary. Altogether the Nationalism was the cause for the Black hands to essentially commit their crime, and later on to keep the war ongoing....
When they drove by, Princip pulled out his pistol and shot the Archduke and his wife, Sophia, in their car. Let’s start with a little back-story. Archduke Franz Ferdinand II of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was on his way to the town hall of Sarajevo to inspect imperial forces in the newly-annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina. Before he reached his location, a bomb was thrown at his car by Nedjelko Cabrinovic, another Serbian nationalist, but it rolled off of the car and into the crowd, injuring an officer and some bystanders. When the archduke was done inspecting their forces, he started on his way to the hospital to visit those who were injured in the earlier attack.
Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1896. He was a threat to the Black Hand Terrorist group, a group of radical Serbian nationalists. They pledged “to destabilize the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire in order to incorporate their Serb population into a greater Serbia” (CITE) However the Archduke’s goals were “strengthening the Austro-Hungarian Empire” (CITE) which was contrary to the Serbs' desires. They feared that if he came into power, he would continue to persecute the Serbs, henceforth the decision to assassinate him.
On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria visited the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo. A group of six assassins, supplied by a Bosnian based terrorist group the Black Hand, had gathered on the streets where the Archduke's motorcade would pass. Some attempted to kill the Archduke, including one who attempted to throw a grenade at the car but missed. Others failed to act as the car drove past them. Later on the route through the city, the motorcade took a wrong turn onto a previously designated street. Gavrilo Princip, a Black Hand assassin, stood waiting with a pistol. Princip shot and killed Archduke Ferdinand and his wife Sophie. However, the assassination received almost disregard back in Austria. Yet, the death of the Archduke and his wife would be the beginning of an all out war in Europe as Austria-Hungary would declare war on Serbia. This declaration would bring in Germany on the side of Austria-Hungarian empire and Russia aiding the Serbians. By joining sides this would convey in France, Great Britain and during the later part of the war, Italy, Japan and the United States. Official war began on July 28, 1914.
Bosnia and Herzegovina were provinces just south of Austria, which had, until 1878, been governed by the Turks. The Treaty of Berlin, in 1878, settled the disposition of lands lost by the Turks following their disastrous war with Russia. Austria was granted the power to administer the two provinces indefinitely. Many Bosnian-Serbs felt a strong nationalistic desire to have their province joined with that of their Serb brothers across the river in Serbia. Many in Serbia openly shared that desire.
The people residing in Serbia did not want to be controlled by Austria which led to the assassination of Austria’s Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Document 5 states, “...the disaster began only at that disastrous moment when the successor of Austria-Hungary fell a victim to murderous hands.” The war was ignited because of nationalism and due to this assassination, an ultimatum was delivered to Serbia from Austria. Document 3 is the ultimatum that was given to Serbia. It reads, “The Royal Government see themselves compelled to demand from the Royal Serbian Government a formal assurance that they condemn this dangerous propaganda against the Monarchy… To accept the collaboration in Serbia of representatives of the Austrian-Hungarian Government.” Serbia agreed to only some of the terms which gave Austria the push it needed to declare war. The instant war was declared, the allies of both Austria and
Adolf Hitler Did you know what Hitler wanted to go to school for? He wanted to be an artist. Hitler was the leader of Germany from 1933 to 1945. On September 1, 1939, he started World War I. This paper will cover his early years (like school, home life, mother, and father).
In the designated chronology of the First World War, the assassination of Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo is widely accepted as the spark that caused the war. However, that explanation fails to consider the long-term factors in the years before the Great War. The assassination of political figures has happened many times throughout history and no wars have been started over them, yet many people believe that the assassination of Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo by itself was the initial cause of the first major war of the 20th century. But if you think about it, why would the murder of an Austrian, in Bosnia, by a Serbian, have the impact that it did? It doesn’t make complete sense; the United States didn’t issue a war against actors when President Lincoln
Adolf Hitler was born in Austria-Hungary on April 20, 1889, to mother, Klara Hitler, and father, Alois Hitler; a German by blood.
In the July Crisis Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia for the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (the heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire) despite not having conclusive proof. Austria-Hungary asked for German support to "eliminate Serbia as a power factor in the Balkans". Germany agreed, offering her full support for Austria- Hungary to start a war with Serbia, and this became known as the "blank cheque". Austria-Hungary and Germany could not have failed to realise the possibility of Russian intervention and a European war, suggesting to me that war was their objective. Austria-Hungary issued an impossible ultimatum to Serbia, which was likely to provoke a war. Serbia was given only 48 hours to reply, so was forced to think quickly, or other countries would be mobilized and ready to attack. Serbia accepted all but one point of the ultimatum. Consequently war was announced. If given more time Serbia could have discussed the issue further in a conference. The British foreign minister, Grey suggested a conference, but this was rejected by Germany and Austria-Hungary, suggesting that they had deliberate aims for war during the Balkan Crisis, rather than the Balkan Crisis being mismanaged.
He felt that several forces of opposing countries took part in fighting each battle and ultimately believed that global opposition caused the Great War. Similarly, in the Balkan Region, several ethnic minorities desired independence from Austria-Hungary. As shown in Document 3, the Austro-Hungarian government demanded that action be taken regarding propaganda against Austria-Hungary. This ultimatum was a result of the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand, who was killed by a Serbian nationalist. Russia, a large Slavic nation, has close ties with Serbia.
Simon Winder, a writer in the New York Times said, “Franz Ferdinand was probably the most senior anti war figure in Central Europe,” (Simon Winder 1). He knew the Habsburg weaknesses (Simon Winder 1). The Archduke emphasized the modernization of old empire rules, as they were a weakness (Talia Mindich 1). He also wished to retire old military chiefs and update the navy (Talia Mindich 1). Ferdinand felt that these things were tearing the empire apart, and his job was to fix it. A person who cares about his empire does not sound like the person one should
The Sarajevo assignation of Austria-Hungarian archduke Franz Ferdinand was all that was needed to plunge the European nations in to war. The assassination lead to powerful nations drawing lines in the sand and provide unwavering support of their allies in the event of conflict. German support if Austria-Hungary provides a strong example of offensive minded states that is using the situation to instigate a clash between its enemies. The evidence that no nation made significant attempts to diplomatically solve the problem and that militaries were mobilizing before war had even been declared, proves that offensive minded strategy was being implemented.
After years of hostility and aggression between the European superpowers and large states, the balance of power began to be challenged. The Serbians in 1914 assassinated the Arch-duke, Franz Ferdinand, of Austria-Hungary. The country counteracted and “issued an ultimatum to Serbia, which would bring the assassins to justice. And with that action Serbia’s sovereignty was nullified” (Duffy Michael, 2009). Since Serbia did not succumb to the harsh demands of Austria-Hungary, “preventative” war was declared on Serbia on July 28,...