Who Assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand

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Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary was assassinated on June 28, 1914, by Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serb nationalist and member of the Black Hand radical organization. The incident profoundly changed the course of European history, leading to World War I.

Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie, were on a touring of the city of Sarajevo in the Austro-Hungarian province of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The couple, however, were targets of an assassination plot carried out by six Bosnian Serb conspirators who had sworn allegiance to the militant organization known as the Black Hand.

Prior to the archduke’s visit to Sarajevo, the Black Hand had devised a plan to execute both Ferdinand and Sophie. Following the assassination attempt, Princip and five other surviving conspirators were arrested and tried. Princip was sentenced to twenty years in prison, while the other conspirators received prison sentences between two and twenty-five years in jail.

The repercussions of the assassination of Franz Ferdinand were far-reaching and led to increased military buildups across Europe. Austria-Hungary declared war on the Serbian kingdom in July 1914, sparking an international conflict now known as World War I.

In recent years, rumors have surfaced that Ferdinand may have been assassinated as part of a larger political plot. However, these claims remain unsubstantiated and Gavrilo Princip is still thought to be the main instigator of the royal couple’s assassination. Historians continue to debate who, if anyone, may have been behind the Archduke’s murder.