Why was Archduke Ferdinand of Austria assassinated?
The archduke of the Austro-Hungarian empire wanted to expand the dual empire into a triple empire by officially annexing the Balkan territories of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which Austria had gained control over from the Ottomans. Opposing this plan was the Serbian nationalist group known as the Black Hand. The Black Hand much influence in the Serbian government and army and had engineered the assassination of the Serbian king and queen a decade earlier. The goal of the Black Hand was to form a union of southern Slavic people, including Serbs living outside of the homeland in places like Bosnia. Austrian annexation of Bosnia would prevent that from happening. The Black Hand sought to remove the threat to their plan by assassinating the archduke when he visited the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo. The Serbs counted on support from their traditional ally, Russia, if and when Austria reacted. In the end, the Black Hand did achieve their goal, as the nation of Yugoslavia was formed by the Treaty
