How the action of the archduke Franz Ferdinand led to his assassination?
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Confronted with a polyglot empire rife with ethnic hostilities, Franz Ferdinand chose a controversial path known as trialism, which would grant a greater voice to Serbs within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Hungary had already been granted powers as part of the Dual Monarchy agreement in the late nineteenth century. This solution angered many Serbs in the Balkans, especially when Austria annexed Bosnia-Herzegovina, including its huge Serbia population. These Serb radicals were angry because they wanted independence for all Serbs within a pan-Slavic kingdom, and they thought Ferdinand's plan might placate some Serbs who were less committed to the cause. Some of the most radical nationalists formed the famous secret group known as the Black Hand, and when Franz Ferdinand made the decision to visit Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina, one of their members, Gavrilo Princip, managed to assassinate him despite the fact that their plot to do so had initially failed.
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