The News Minute| June 28, 2014| 5:20 pm IST
June 28 marks an important day in the history of the world; it marks the day Archduke Ferdinand and Duchess Sophie of the Austro-Hungarian Empire were assassinated. The incident came to be known as the Sarajevo Crisis- the ‘immediate cause’ that triggered the First World War.
The BBC recounts the sequence of events on that fateful day- 28 June 1914: Archduke assassinated
The royal couple was shot to death by Gavrilo Princip, a 19 year old Bosnian Serb in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia. Princip belonged to the Serb terrorist organization ‘Black Hand’ that was demanding independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Against the context of ongoing political struggle, the incident led to a declaration of war on the Serbian Empire by Austria-Hungary. Offensives and counter-offensives followed.
The First World War, or the Great War, involved over 30 belligerents- countries, empires and their colonies, and lasted for over four years. It was fought between two groups- the Allied Powers or the Entente led by the UK, France and the Russian Empire and the Central Powers led by Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The war resulted in over 37 million casualties. The total number of deaths, military and civilian, exceeded 16 million.
BBC Timeline- 37 Days: Countdown to World War One
At the end of the war, the Allies emerged victorious and US President Woodrow Wilson, with his 14 Points tried to bring about world peace. Many empires disintegrated, new countries came into existence; the League of Nations was formed. Twenty years later, partly as a repercussion to the aftermath of the war, the Second World War ensued.
Today marks the 100th anniversary of the crisis which led to major shifts in power at the global stage, and the crisis which caused one of the deadliest conflicts in history.
But has Sarajevo buried the incident in the annals of history or does its legacy haunt the region even today?
Hundred years and the aftermath- Bosnia and WW1: The living legacy of Gavrilo Princip