Annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina

October 6, 1908

Over the course of the 19th century, the Balkans were a region full of political tension and turmoil. After centuries of oppression under the Ottoman Empire, a growing sense of nationalism among the South Slavs was beginning to weaken it, and the great powers of Europe - Austria-Hungary, Germany, and Russia - saw this as an opportunity to expand into the region. These competing interests led to the outbreak of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878. The Russian Empire, wanting to restore lost territory, formed a coalition with the Balkan nations of Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, and Romania against the Ottomans. After a Russian victory, the 1878 Treaty of Berlin granted the Balkan nations official independence - but also gave the great powers of Europe more influence in the region.

Specifically, one point in the treaty granted Austria-Hungary permission for a military occupation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, which was fiercely resisted by both Bosnian Serbs, who wanted to unite with Serbia, and Bosnian Muslims, who feared a loss of their majority religious status. In 1908, internal turmoil further weakened the Ottoman Empire, and Austria-Hungary saw an opportunity to strengthen its hold in the region. On the 6th of October, after 30 years of occupation by Austrian soldiers, Kaiser Franz Joseph announced the annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Largely seen as an overstep of power, this permanently damaged Austro-Serbian and Austro-Russian relations and led to the formation of a number of secret anti-Austrian revolutionary groups in the Balkans, both of which would directly contribute to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and the start of the First World War.