One hundred years ago to the day Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sofia were murdered by Serbian Nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo, Bosnia. They were there touring the recently annexed territory of Bosnia with the Governor of Bosnia Oskar Potiorek. Earlier in the day another assassin had attempted to kill the Archduke with a bomb but that failed. When he was shot the motorcade was on its way to the hospital to visit the victims of the blast from earlier. The motorcade stopped and begin to turn around when they realized they were on a dangerous route. Princip, who was standing on the street corner, took this opportunity to try and kill the Archduke and Governor. He fired two shots that were aimed at the Archduke and the Governor. One made its mark while the other hit Sofia instead. Both died within minutes from their wounds and Princip was apprehended immediately.
To understand the assassination we must understand the background to the assassination. Franz Ferdinand was born in 1863 as the nephew of the Emperor Franz Joseph. He assumed the throne of Archduke after his cousin Duke Francis V of Modina died. In 1894 he met his future wife at a ball in Prague. Her name was Sofia Chotek but she wasn't considered royalty. After much quarreling with the Emperor and other members of the Austrian Royalty he was allowed to marry under the condition that it was morganatic meaning she would have no rights usual royalty would and their successors would not be airs to the throne. Sofia was not allowed to appear at state dinners or even the opera house with her husband archduke. They were rarely seen together and were frowned upon by other members of the Austrian royalty. For the couple this trip to Sarajevo was a chance to appear as a couple without the royal restrictions they would have in Vienna. This was one of the few times they were seen together as a royal couple.
Gavrilo Princip on the other hand was not born into royal blood. He was born in 1894 in the small town of Obljaj. He was part of a Serbian family and at a young age joined the Serbian Nationalist group Black Hand that fought for a Greater Serbia and to rid themselves of their Austrian Oppressors. They wanted to make Bosnia a part of Serbia so it could expand further. Bosnia had been annexed by Austria- Hungary 40 years earlier and these Serbian Nationalist were trying to free themselves from the Austrians. But to be honest Bosnia had expanded and flourished more than it ever had under other rule. They built railway systems, hospitals, and schools. The Nationalist saw them as oppressors and there main goal was to unite all Yugoslavs under one ruler. The only problem with killing the Archduke was he was the one person who could actually help the Bosnian and Serbs. He wanted to give the Slavic people more power in their two pronged empire. He was looking to expand it to a three way empire with the Austrians, Hungarians, and Slavs. Archduke Franz Ferdinand was one of the main people that wanted to help the Serbian people. By killing the Archduke he not only ruined the chances of the Slavic people gaining more power he started a war. The Balkans was a fire waiting to start and all thats needed was a spark. Princip provided that spark which subsequently started a war that would kill millions of people.
In the end, Gavrilo Princip was a man who wanted to expand his country and unite all the Yugoslavs but in the process started a war. So what do you think. Hero or Villain?
