While the rest of the world might view Europe and Europeans as
a monolithic force with global reach, the continent was beset with many
rivalries. As part of the long-term legacy of the post-Roman era of unity,
Europe was a chessboard of competing nation-states in the west and multi-ethnic
empires in the east. These conflicts would dramatically threaten Europe’s
overall power in the world.
This assassination set in motion a series of states going to
war based upon alliances. These alliances were initially designed as a
deterrent, but in the end they made the conflict in the Balkans a much larger
war. Nationalism was also at the heart of the outbreak of the war. Throughout
Europe, people identified with their larger nation-state and often cheered the
declaration of war against perceived enemy states. This popular support for war
made the First World War a unique moment in world history.
Assassination of Franz Ferdinand, June 28, 1914. The spark that set off the war was the assassination of the Austro-Hungarian heir to the throne by Serbian nationalists during his visit to Sarajevo in Bosnia-Herzegovina. When he was killed, few could predict that within six weeks, a European-wide war would break out.
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