The newspaper goes on to state that:

"Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his morganatic wife, the Duchess of Hohenberg, were assassinated today while driving through the streets of Sarajevo, the Bosnian capital. A youthful Servian student fired the shots, which added another to the long list of tragedies that have darkened the reign of Emperor Francis Joseph."

Which disaster was aggravated due to the above incident? What were the consequences of the disaster?

The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his morganatic wife, the Duchess of Hohenberg, in the streets of Sarajevo, the Bosnian capital, on June 28, 1914 is referred to as the Sarajevo Crisis. Sarajevo Crisis was the immediate cause that aggravated the First World War (1914-1918).

Consequences of First World War

1. Massive Destruction and Loss of Life — World War I caused enormous loss of life, with millions of soldiers and civilians killed or wounded, and led to widespread destruction of property.

2. Economic Crisis — Countries faced severe economic depression due to war expenses and loss of manpower.

3. The Treaty of Versailles (June 28, 1919) — The Treaty was designed to prevent Germany from going to war again. It declared Germany guilty of aggression. Harsh terms were imposed on Germany including loss of territory, merchant ships, military restrictions, heavy reparations and Germany had to provide other countries with coal supply for years.

4. Collapse of Monarchies — Three ruling dynasties were destroyed —the Romanov in Russia during the War itself, the Hohenzollern in Germany and the Hapsburg in Austria-Hungary. Soon after the War, the rule of Ottomans came to an end in Turkey.

5. Territorial Rearrangements —

   1. The period after the war saw the beginning of the end of the European supremacy in the world. Economically and militarily, the United States surpassed Europe to emerge as a world power. The peace treaties signed after the war transformed the political map of the world, particularly of Europe.
   2. Austria and Hungary became separate independent States. Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia emerged as independent States. Thus, the War led to the development of democracy in Europe.
   3. Empires having different cultures were dissolved and independent states having distinct cultures emerged after the War. These included Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Yugoslavia. Under the impulse of nationalism Alsace-Lorraine was restored to France and Schelswig-Hostein was restored to Denmark.

6. Formation of the League of Nations — One of the most significant consequences of the War was the creation of the League of Nations. The horrors of War convinced the leaders of the world that there must be a mechanism to prevent War and promote international cooperation. This culminated in the setting up of the League of Nations.