Why Did the Bosnian Crisis of 1908-1909 + the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913 Not Develop Into a General European Conflict, Whereas the Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914 Did?

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Why did the Bosnian crisis of 1908-1909 + the Balkan wars of 1912-1913 not develop into a general European conflict, whereas the assassination of archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914 did? Xanthe de Groot On October 5, 1908 Austria-Hungary annexes Bosnia. Since 1878 the area was already controlled by Austria-Hungary, but was threatened by the crooked relations within Europe. The annexation led to what we call the Bosnian crisis. It contributed to the tensions between the great powers in Europe. During the Berlin Conference in 1878 it was decided that Austria-Hungary was controlling the Bosnia area. During the Conference, the Balkans were redistributed to the various powers of that time. The German politician Otto von Bismarck would like to accomplish this in order to restore the balance of power and keep it and keep the peace in Europe. The Ottoman Empire was weakened during this period. In 1908 Turkish officers called the Young Turks committed a coup d'etat and took power. This meant that the Ottoman Empire could recover and might get great influence in the Balkans. Austria-Hungary wanted to annex Bosnia as soon as possible so that area wasn’t lost. Annexation could cause problems with Russia and its allies. On September 19, 1908 the Foreign Minister of Russia Alexander Izvolski and the Foreign Minister of Austria-Hungary, Alois Lexa von Aehrental held a secret meeting in castle Buchlau in Moldova. Both countries agreed that Russia would not intervene when Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia and Austria-Hungary made sure that Russia would have acces to the Black Sea, which was strategically important for them to access. On October 5, 1908 Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia without Russia being aware that they would do so. The other powers were shocked by the events and tensions rose. The Balkan States regarded Russia as a protector and were disappointed and Pan-Slavists in

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