Young Bosnia
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Young Bosnia (Serbo-Croat: Млада Босна / Mlada Bosna) was a revolutionary youth organization in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the early 20th century. On June 28, 1914, its member Gavrilo Princip assassinated the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary in Sarajevo. The assassination in Sarajevo triggered World War I.
Bosnia and Herzegovina had been occupied by Austria-Hungary in 1878 and annexed in 1908. Many Bosnians, primarily Bosnian Serbs and Bosnian Muslims, resented the occupation and preferred unification with Serbia and/or other South Slavic lands. Young Bosnia (most of whose members, but not all, were Serbs), was an organization of young people who advocated use of violence to achieve this goal.
The members of Young Bosnia who participated in the assassination were Gavrilo Princip, Nedeljko Čabrinović, Vaso Čubrilović, Trifko Grabež, Danilo Ilić, Muhamed Mehmedbašić, Cvjetko Popović, Miško Jovanović and Veljko Čubrilović. At least Princip, Čabrinović and Grabež suffered from tuberculosis which was at that time a terminal disease.
Character of the movement
Like many other movements, Young Bosnia has been classified as terrorists or as freedom fighters, according to the author's bias. Some people don't consider them terrorists, because, according to their definition of terrisim, a terrorist kills innocents en masse, whereas Young Bosnia assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the representative of an occupying imperial power (Austria-Hungary).Some believe that Young Bosnia was just a subsidiary organization of the Black Hand, but others point out the ideological differences between the right-wing Black Hand and members of Young Bosnia, who espoused anarchism.
In Yugoslavia, Young Bosnia were praised as revolutionaries who helped bring about the fall of the oppressive Austro-Hungarian Empire and the unification of South Slavs. In Austria they were (and mostly still are) regarded as agents of Serbia and criminals.
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