Archduke Ferdinand Causes

Introduction:
Undoubtedly, the final spark that led to the Great War was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, presumed heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife Sophia on July 28, 1914. No other murder in history has triggered a chain of events of such scale – a world war, the collapse of imperialism, and socialist revolution. The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand ultimately led to Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia on July 28, 1914. But the move to war was more than just anger and retaliation over the assassination, it was the culmination of tensions over instability and conflict in the Balkan region. It can be argued that the first World War actually began with the Balkan Wars, which resulted directly from European powers’ continual reach for power in the Balkan Peninsula. The age of imperialism was drawing to a close and ideas of nationalism and self-determination were beginning to take hold, especially in the Balkans, who had
The collapse of the Ottoman Empire excited the major powers of the region, particularly Russia, Britain, Germany, and Austria-Hungary, who all had foreign policy concerns about the consequences of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Each state had its own objective when poised with regard to the ‘Eastern Question’. Russia sought Balkan territory as a means of controlling the Bosphorus, which would allow them shipping access between the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea. Britain opposed Russian expansion into the Mediterranean and the Middle East, therefore supporting the continuation of the Ottoman Empire. Germany sought to acquire the Balkan region for colonization. Like England, Austria-Hungary did not want to see Russia gain access to the Black Sea, nor was it in favor of watching a fellow kingdom (the Ottoman Empire)