The Austro-Hungarian Empire Before World War I

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Before World war 1, Europe was a very different place. One of the most notable differences was the large Austro-Hungarian and ottoman empires. The Austro-Hungarian empire before World War I was the largest political entity in mainland Europe. It spanned almost 700,000 square kilometers and occupied much of central Europe. The empire also had Eleven major language groups that were scattered across the empire making it very diverse. Franz Josef was the emperor, though he was first crowned as king both of Austria and Hungary. Each of the empire’s two monarchies continued to exist in their own right; they had their own parliament, prime ministers, cabinet and a degree of domestic self-government.

The Ottoman Empire prior to World War I was in a state of rapid transition and decay. The Empire had been one of the world’s largest imperial powers. The ottoman’s ruled eastern Europe, northern Africa and the Middle East and their power extended from the Persian Gulf to central Europe. They also ruled the entire north coast of Africa and west to Egypt and
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It all started when he agreed to attend a series of military exercises in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Since Austria-Hungary had just annexed these provinces a few years earlier against the wishes of neighboring Serbia. Ferdinand believed the Serbs to be “pigs,” “thieves,” “murderers” and “scoundrels.” Yet he had opposed annexation for fear that it would make an already turbulent political situation even worse. Upon learning of Ferdinand’s upcoming visit, the Young Bosnians, a secret revolutionary society of peasant students with pro-Slavic views, began plotting to assassinate him. They traveled to Serbia where they received handheld bombs, semi-automatic pistols and cyanide suicide capsules from members of the so-called Black Hand, a terrorist group with

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