Ottoman Rule
1848-1878 		1918-1929






Bosnia 1878-1918



After the Russo-Turkish war of 1878, the BERLIN CONGRESS reshaped the map of the Balkans peninsula. Serbia was granted full independence and the region around Nis; tiny Montenegro expanded, and Austro-Hungary occupied Bosnia-Hercegovina and the Sandzak of Novipazar - a step which infuriated Serb nationalists, as they had eyed at the annexion of Bosnia-Hercegovina to Serbia.
With Austrian administration, major changes were introduced; the Arab script seized to be used in public administration, replaced by the Latin alphabet. Bosnia-Hercegovina was treated as a separate entity (until 1908), which included separate postage stamps issued for the area. Sarajevo contined to be the seat of administration.
In 1908, Austria openly annexed Bosnia-Hercegovina and withdrew from the Sandzak of Novipazar, which was reoccupied by Ottoman forces. A number of Bosnian Muslims emigrated in 1878/1908, resettling in lands still under Ottoman control.
The annexion of Bosnia-Hercegovina had added fuel to the fire of fervent Serbian nationalism. When Austria Hungary's heir-apparent, ARCHDUKE FRANZ-FERDINAND, paraded in an open car through the streets of Sarajevo on June 28th 1914 (on St. Vitus' day, the day of Serbia's patron saint), he was assassinated by GAVRILO PRINCIP, a Bosnian patriot with connections to Serbia's secret service.
The perpetrator was arrested and Serbia's involvement in the affair was obvious. Austria issued an ultimatum at Serbia; although Serbia accepted most demands, Austria declared war which escalated into World War I. Bosnia was of no importance as a battleground, but Sarajevo had provided the spark that had ignited the fire.






EXTERNAL
LINKS 		History of Bosnia-Hercegovina, by Andreas Riedlmayer, from Bosnian Embassy, from Catholic Encyclopedia, 1914 edition
Sarajevo over the centuries, from the Bosnia Page
June 28th 1914 : Assassination in Sarajevo, from Trenches on the Web
The Bosnian Crisis, 1908/1909. from Trenches on the Web
Links to Bosnian history, from Caltech
DOCUMENTS Map of Sarajevo 1905, from Perry Castaneda Library
Kurt von Reden, The first shot in the World War, posted by Nationalism Project at Univ. Stockholm, in Swedish; a report to Vienna on the situation in Bosnia
REFERENCE Noel Malcolm, Bosnia, A Short History, NY UP (1994) 1996 [G]
Fred Singleton, A Short History of the Yugoslav Peoples, Cambridge University Press (1985) 1999
H.J. Kornrumpf, Scheriat und Christlicher Staat. Die Muslime in Bosnien und in den europäischen Nachfolgestaaten des Osmanischen Reiches (1984) (Sharia and Christian State. The Muslims in Bosnia and in the Eurpean Successor States of the Ottoman Empire), in : Analecta Isisiana LV, Istanbul : Isis 2001, pp.95-112, in German [G]
Article Bosnia-Herzegovina, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1913 pp. 958-959 (on events of 1912) [G]
Article Austria-Hungary : Bosnia-Herzegovina, in : Statesman's Year Book 1895 pp.371-372, 374, 1898 pp.371-372, 374, 1901 pp.427-428, 1905 pp.459-461, 1910 pp.624-625, 628 [G]
Article : Bosnia and Herzegovina, in : International Year Book 1898 pp.112-113, 1899 p.124, 1900 pp.132-133 [G]
Article : Bosnia and Herzegovina, in : New International Year Book 1907 p.104, 1908 pp.95-96, 1909 p.99, 1914 pp.105-106, 1918 p.97 [G]
Jivoin Perich, La Confederation Balkanique (The Balkan Confederation, 1912), posted online by Gutenberg Library Online, in French
Anonymous, Une Confederation Orientale comme solution de la Question d'Orient (An Oriental Confederation as solution of the Oriental Question, 1907), posted online by Gutenberg Library Online, in French
VIDEOS De Mayerling a Sarajevo, by Max Ophüls, 1940, French with Engl. subtitles


This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted in 2002, last revised on October 16th 2007

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