A Powder Keg in Europe

Europe Before the Great War

Europe dissolved into many cultures at the end of the Roman Empire. Several smaller empires emerged, but none matched the power and glory of Rome. By the turn of the twentieth century, most of the smaller states of Europe combined or were conquered into larger nation-states.

Germany and Italy became unified nations in the latter part of the nineteenth century. They joined Great Britain, France, Austria-Hungary, and Russia as European world powers. These nations were filled with nationalism, or great national pride. These European nations expanded their borders by building imperial colonies in Africa and Asia. Most Europeans believed their nation was superior to every other nation, and many were willing to go to war to demonstrate their will.

The Powder Keg of Europe

Europe was tense and unstable in the years before 1914, with recent multinational conflicts such as the Crimean War (1853–1856) and the Balkan Wars (1912–1913). Ethnic minorities chafed in Austria-Hungary, a diverse empire that had replaced the old Holy Roman Empire, but in 1914, it was reasonable to assume that Europe would remain at peace for many years. That assumption would turn out to be false.

The Assassination in Sarajevo

The city of Sarajevo is at the foot of the Balkan Mountains. Sarajevo was a city of great unrest because Austria-Hungary had seized the city and the surrounding region five years earlier. On June 28, Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife visited the city. Ferdinand was the heir, or next in line to be emperor of Austria-Hungary. There were rumors of an assassination attempt by ethnic Serbians in Sarajevo, but the Archduke and his wife wandered through the city believing they were safe. A group called the Black Hand proved otherwise.

The Black Hand was an ethnic Serbian terrorist organization that included teenagers and young adults. Several Black Hand members were in Sarajevo with orders to kill the Archduke. That morning, the Archduke and his wife narrowly missed death when a terrorist attempted to throw a bomb into their car. The driver sped up, causing the bomb to bounce off the Archduke’s arm and land behind the car. The following car in the procession was destroyed. Several people were injured.

Princip’s Fatal Opportunity

After the Archduke gave a speech, he decided to go to the hospital to visit the people wounded in the attack. The Archduke’s driver was unfamiliar with the route and took a wrong turn. The car stopped in front of a café, where Gavrilo Princip sat sipping coffee only five feet away. Princip was a Black Hand terrorist who thought the opportunity to kill the Archduke had passed. Suddenly and by coincidence, Princip was presented with another chance. The young Serbian fired two shots, killing the Archduke and his wife.

The Spark That Ignited the War

Gavrilo Princip set events in motion that would lead to worldwide conflict. Princip died in prison, but he was a hero to many Serbian people. The store in front of the site where the Archduke was killed became a museum that honored Princip. The museum closed in 1992 because ethnic violence made it a target of snipers. The cultural tensions that led to World War I were still a factor in the Balkan region almost eighty years later.