Assassination At Sarajevo Essay, Research Paper

Assassination at Sarajevo

Important Places/Dates of event:

April,1914- Narodna Obrandna recieves paper that says that Francis Ferdinand will be coming to Sarajevo on June 28, 1914

Sarajevo-June28, 1914- Francis Ferdinand and Sofia Chotek are assassinated

July 23- Austria sends ultimatum to Serbian leaders

July 28-Austria declares war on Serbia

August 1, 1914- Germany declares war on Russia

August 2, 1914- Germany asks for free transit in Belgium; Belgium refuses, but German?s enter anyway

August 3, 1914- Germany declares war on France

August 4, 1914- Germany admits to violation of Belgian rights, promises to restore order after war

October 12, 1914- Gavrilo Princip?s trial

Key Idnividuals/Roles:

Francis Joseph- emperor of Austria-Hungary

Francis Ferdinand ?Archduke, heir to the thone; assassinated

Sofia Chotek- Francis Ferdinand?s wife; assassinated

Gavrilo Princip-assassin and revolutionary terrorist

Description/Summary of Event:

Of all the European rulers at the time, none was probably more unlucky or unhappy as Francis Joseph, emperor of Austria-Hungary. Francis Joseph?s brother Maximillian was killed by a Mexican firing squad, his sister-in-law went insane, his wife was killed by an anarchist, and his son had either committed suicide or was murdered along with his mistress. As if this wasn?t enough on Sunday June 28,1914 Francis Joseph?s nephew and heir was assassinated along with his wife in Sarajevo.

The assassin at Sarajevo was a 19-year-old man named Gavrilo Princip, a member of Narodna Obrandna, which was a secret Serbian patriotic-terrorist group. This groups goal was to restore Serbia back to the way it used to be and becoming free of Austrian rule.

In April of 1914 Narodna Obrandna received a piece of paper saying that Francis Ferdinand will be coming to Sarajevo on June 28, 1914. The Serbs saw this event as an insult and an opportunity. June 28 is day in the hearts of all Serbs called Vidovnan. On this day the Turks conquered the old Serb kingdom at the battle of Amsefelde in 1389. It also was the day during the 2nd Balkan war when Serbian armies took revenge on the Turks. Francis Ferdinand?s visit on this day made Serbian?s mad but it meant something totally different for the Narodna Obrandna. They saw this as an opportunity to kill Francis Ferdinand and start the revolutionary movement against Austria-Hungary. From the date Narodna Obrandna received the paper telling of the event, to a few days before they prepared the assassination. The guns and hand grenades were bought from Major Tankosic, a leader of a Serbian radical group. The guns were kept in a teacher?s home until the night before the event, and were distributed the next morning.

On June 28, 1914 as Francis Ferdinand drove through the city of Sarajevo a hand grenade was thrown at his car but it missed him and his car drove to the Town Hall quickly. From there Francis Ferdinand was given advice to laeve as soon as possible, and that was what he was going to do. On his drive out of Sarajevo he met Gavril Princip. Princip fired two shot one into the abdomen of Sofia Chotek?s heart and one near the heart of Francis Ferdinand. Both the Archduke and his wife died that day.

Was this a significant event in World History?

Yes, the assassination at Sarajevo was a significant event in World History. The shots fired by Princip on that Sunday triggered was across Europe and started the fire that was World War I. Had this assassination not happened maybe the world would have come to peace sooner and began work on bigger economic, scientific, and political issues in the world.