Why Was the Archduke Assassinated?
Pre-World War 1 Europe
Before World War 1, Austria-Hungary had annexed Bosnia-Herzegovina, something many Bosnians were not happy about. Many Serbians were also unhappy because they wanted to have Bosnia join them to create a greater Serbian kingdom. When Archduke Franz Ferdinand toured Austria-Hungary and visited Sarajevo, Serbia took advantage of the fact many Bosnians would gladly leave the Austro-Hungarian Empire and set up an assassination to force a local war between Austro-Hungary and Serbia, in which Bosnia could join them.