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In itself it may not be the most important event, but the series of events that it unleashed (WWI, the fall of the dynasties of Europe and Russia, the rise of Communism and Fascism which led to WWII and the Holocaust, etc.) can all be traced back to that fateful day.
Were all of most of them destined to happen whether or not Franz Ferdinand had been killed? Was Europe such a powder keg that it would have only been a matter of time until something else triggered WWI or would the entire 20th Century have been different?
This is a facinating era of history. Of the reading I have done, WW I had been in the planning for quite a few years, and the assassination of Ferdinand was just the trigger. Check out the Schlieffen Plan:Schlieffen Plan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The reasons go back to Napoleon and then the Franco Prussian War..and the animosity between France and Germany, actually probably back to Charlemagne after he divided his Empire between his sons...it never ends
In itself it may not be the most important event, but the series of events that it unleashed (WWI, the fall of the dynasties of Europe and Russia, the rise of Communism and Fascism which led to WWII and the Holocaust, etc.) can all be traced back to that fateful day.
Were all of most of them destined to happen whether or not Franz Ferdinand had been killed? Was Europe such a powder keg that it would have only been a matter of time until something else triggered WWI or would the entire 20th Century have been different?
History is a example of contingency that the assination of the the heir to the Crown of Austria-Hungary triggered events in Europe that are still echoing today (i.e. the conflict with Serbia over Kossovo) illustrates this. Europe in 1914 had its crisis points. You had the teetering Monarchy in Spain, the problems in the Balkans and the nationalist problems in Austria -Hungary. There was the dynastic crisis in the Russian Empire where the Crown Prince Alexy had health problems and the Czar Nicholas II had problems in having a healthy male heir. If Alexy had died and Nicholas II passed without producing another heir there might have been a real struggle over who would be the new Tsar. Would this have destroyed the Russian Empire and brought revolution or would it have lead to Constitutional Tsardom. Britain and France had huge overseas empires and facing an increasing burden just to keep them both in human lives and money. Finally, Europe faced a new economic superpower, like we nervously watch the rise of China today, Europe had to face stiff economic competition from the United States of America so history might have been different but very interesting if Princep hadn't fired that shot in Sarajevo.
WWI was just a continuation of the power struggle within europe that had gone o for centuries. It was the start of the end of empires and concluded when euorpe was bascially destroyed in bot h winner and losers in WWII. In WWI and II they basci came to a pouit aht they kiled off two genrtions and went bankrupt.That is why some historian beleive that both were europes civil war .
King George V of England with his first cousin Tsar Nicholas II of Russia
dressed in military uniforms of their first cousin Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany.
WWI was just a continuation of the power struggle within europe that had gone o for centuries. It was the start of the end of empires and concluded when euorpe was bascially destroyed in bot h winner and losers in WWII. In WWI and II they basci came to a pouit aht they kiled off two genrtions and went bankrupt.That is why some historian beleive that both were europes civil war .
Is your keyboard broke? Or are you posting from an iphone or something?
While the British monarchy survived... their German name did not.
1917 King George V of England changed the British royal family name
from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor.
Tsar Nicholas of Russia tried to distance himself from his German
ancestors [Russia's Tsars often married German Princesses] and
for his efforts, he and the Russian royal family were murdered by
the bolsheviks.
I would say the Treaty of Versailles was the most importat event if it can be considered and event. If it (the treaty) wasn't so harsh on Germany, Germany would have probably been a much more stable country in the 1920's and 1930's.
I think the Kaiser Wilhelm II had the most say in how the 20th century would play out, followed closely by Tsar Nicholas. Both of these men made serious mistakes that led to disaster for their countries. But I would have to say Kaiser Wilhelm made the most serious errors, especially when he forced out Otto Von Bismark from his position as Prime Minister and reversed the gains he had made in matters of foreign policy. Wilhelm II made error after error, letting a treaty expire with Russia that Bismark had negotiated, he made public statements and interviews that alienated relations with Britain, even tho his mother was British and grandmother was Queen Victoria. Bismark was forced out of his position as prime minister and warned Wilhelm on the way out that in 20 years Germany would get caught up in a petty dispute in the Balkans and a great war would develope. Bismark had a very cautious foreign policy and great domestic achievments, he is very underrated IMO.
Durring WW1 Wilhelm also let Lennin travel thru Germany by train to Russia in an attempt to stir unrest there and overthrow Tsar Nicholas. It worked and knocked Russia out of the war, but what a fatefull turn of events for world history. Earlier the Kaiser Wilhelm also curbed influence of Tsar Nicholas in Turkey after the Russia/Ottoman war. Tsar Nicholas did not have to be the greatest leader Russia ever had, he only needed to be a little bit better than he was, and relations with Germany made all the difference.
Wilhelm II did not want to sign the Schlieffen Plan to invade France, he even warned the militarists before he signed it "Gentlemen, you will regret this but I will sign it" And sign it he did, therefore giving him the most key role in how the 20th century would play out.
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