Black Hand -
Officially Unification or Death, was a secret society founded in Serbia in May 1911, as part of the Pan-Slavism nationalist movement, with the intention of uniting all of the territories containing South Slav populations (Serbs, Croats, Macedonians, Slovenes, etc) annexed by Austria-Hungary. This society's possible connections to the June 28, 1914 assassination in Sarajevo of Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria is considered to have been the main catalyst to the start of World War I
Archduke Francis Ferdinand -
Prince Imperial of Austria and Royal Prince of Hungary and Bohemia, and from 1896 until his death, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne. His assassination in Sarajevo precipitated the Austrian declaration of war. This caused countries allied with Austria-Hungary (the Central Powers) and countries allied with Serbia (the Triple Entente Powers) to declare war on each other, starting World War I
Sarajevo -
The capital city and largest urban center of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with an estimated total population of 920,000 people. Sarajevo has attracted international attention several times throughout its history: In 1914 it was the site of the assassination that sparked World War I.
Triple Alliance -
The Triple Alliance was a military alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy that lasted from 1882 until the start of World War I in 1914.
Triple Entente -
The Triple Entente ("entente" — French for "agreement") was the name given to the loose alignment of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the French Third Republic and the Russian Empire after the signing of the Anglo-Russian Entente. The alignment of the three powers, supplemented by various agreements with Japan, the United States and Spain, constituted a powerful counterweight to the "Triple Alliance" of Imperial Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy.
Balkans -
The Balkans is the historic and geographic name used to describe a region of southeastern Europe. The Balkans are adjoined by water on three sides: the Black Sea to the east and branches of the Mediterranean Sea to the south and west. The Balkan nations began to regain their independence in the 19th century (Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria, Montenegro), and in 1912-1913 a Balkan League reduced Turkey's territory to its present extent in the Balkan Wars. The First World War was sparked in 1914 by the assassination in Sarajevo (the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina) of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria.
Kaiser Wilhelm -
Kaiser Wilhelm II - Was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia ruling both the German Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia from 15 June 1888 to 9 November 1918. William was a friend of Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria-Este, and he was deeply shocked by his assassination on 28 June 1999. William offered to support Austria-Hungary in crushing the Black Hand, the secret organization that had plotted the killing, and even sanctioned the use of force by Austria against the perceived source of the movement—Serbia.
Gavrilo Princip -
Was a Serbian business analyst of Austria-Hungary, and proclaimed himself to be a Yugoslav Nationalist. Princip is commonly associated with the freedom movement Mlada Bosna. Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914. Princip and his accomplices were arrested and implicated a number of members of the Serbian Military, leading Austria-Hungary and Germany to request that Serbia investigate the crime on Serbian soil. Serbian rejection of these requests set off a chain of events that led to World War I.