Francis Ferdinand

Archduke of Austria (1875-1914)

• Born: December 18, 1863
• Birthplace: Graz, Austria
• Died: June 28, 1914
• Place of death: Sarajevo, Bosnia, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now in Bosnia and Herzegovina)

As heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Francis Ferdinand attempted to uphold the authority of the Habsburg Dynasty and deal with the nationalities issue that threatened the integrity of the empire. The assassination of the archduke and his wife, Countess Sophie, in Sarajevo by a Serbian nationalist served as the immediate spark for the outbreak of World War I.

Early Life

Francis Ferdinand was the eldest son of Archduke Carl Ludwig, younger brother to the Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph. Trained for a military career, Francis Ferdinand rose to the position of inspector general of the army; the deaths of the only son of Franz Joseph, Crown Prince Rudolf, in 1889 by suicide and of Carl Ludwig in 1896 opened the way for the rise of Ferdinand into the position of heir to the throne. As archduke, he was never a popular figure. While intelligent, he lacked the culture and style so essential for success in prewar Austrian politics and society. Francis Ferdinand’s short temper and suspicious nature contributed further to his lack of popularity.

Francis Ferdinand was diagnosed with tuberculosis in 1895, and his poor health seemed to suggest that he might not live to take the throne. His brother Otto was seen by many as a more probable successor. In 1900, the archduke married Countess Sophie Chotek over the objections of Emperor Franz Joseph. The old emperor did not get on well with his nephew the archduke. Both the imperial court and the emperor held that Sophie, a lady-in-waiting, was not of sufficient royal blood to marry into the Habsburg family. This resulted in a morganatic marriage in which Francis Ferdinand had to renounce the right of any of his future children to take the throne. Further, at official functions, Sophie received little official recognition. Strict court rules placed Sophie at the bottom of the protocol list at the imperial court. She was, however, given the title of duchess in 1905. All reports suggest that Francis Ferdinand proved a devoted husband and good father to his three children.

Life’s Work

The Austro-Hungarian Empire of Francis Ferdinand’s time was a troubled realm. Throughout the nineteenth century, the multinational Habsburg Dynasty and its empire confronted the difficult problem of satisfying the nationalist aspirations of its subject people, which included Hungarians (Magyars), Croats, Czechs, Italians, Poles, Serbs, Slovaks, Romanians, Slovenes, and Ukrainians. During the 1848 revolutions, the Hungarians and Czechs had arisen in revolt, demanding self-determination. These uprisings were brutally crushed by armed force. Later, following defeat at the hands of Prussia in the 1867 Austro-Prussian War, Austria was forced to make concessions to the Hungarians that resulted in the Ausgleich (settlement) of 1867. This settlement transformed the Austrian Empire into two separate political entities the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary under the title of the Austro-Hungarian Empire or Dual Monarchy. Each of these kingdoms was governed under its own laws, but joint control over economic policy, foreign affairs, and military affairs bound the empire together. These new arrangements served only to encourage other minority nationalities, especially the Czechs and South Slavs, to demand additional concessions.

As a reformer, Francis Ferdinand sought a workable solution to the nationalities problem. This, however, put him at odds with his uncle Franz Joseph. A small circle of supporters, known as the Belvedere Circle, attached themselves to the archduke. Francis Ferdinand’s solution revolved around the ideal of “trialism,” or the restructuring of the Dual Monarchy into a Triple Monarchy that would give the Slavs a voice in government. The chief goal of this approach was to reduce Magyar influence by strengthening the other national minorities of the empire. Francis Ferdinand also considered the idea of creating some form of federal system composed of sixteen states.

Francis Ferdinand also took an interest in military matters and foreign affairs. He urged a more powerful army and, in 1913, was appointed inspector general of the army. In the arena of foreign affairs, the archduke urged close ties to Germany and a policy of improving relations with czarist Russia. However, the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s international position eroded in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The internal nationalities problem and questions about the empire’s ability to effectively wage war undermined Austria’s great power status. Austria generally took up a defensive stand with the aim of limiting the rise of Slavic nationalism along its southeastern frontiers in the Balkans. Repeated disputes arose with Russia as each power competed to further its own influence in the region. Beginning in 1878, the Austro-Hungarian Empire occupied and administered the two Turkish provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Balkans.

The rise of an independent Serbia across the frontier from Austrian-controlled Bosnia complicated the situation for the empire. The vision of a Greater Serbian state inspired the Bosnian Serbs to aspire for liberation from Austro-Hungarian control. In 1908, Austria unilaterally moved to formally annex Bosnia and Herzegovina. This precipitated an international crisis (the Bosnian Crisis) that angered the Russians and outraged Serbia. Only the strong support of Germany resolved the crisis in Austria’s favor. The Balkans were further destabilized by a series of Balkan Wars (the First Balkan War, 1912-1913; the Second Balkan War, 1914).

Austrian and Russian positions in southeastern Europe hardened, while Bosnian Serb frustrations mounted over Austrian control. Subsequently, the Union or Death, or the Black Hand , a secret nationalist society, decided to assassinate Archduke Francis Ferdinand. As the one person in the Austro-Hungarian Empire whose reform plans might frustrate pan-Serb ambitions, Francis Ferdinand was a particularly attractive target. The chief of intelligence of the Serbian general staff helped plan the assassination. In addition, Francis Ferdinand was an unpopular figure in the empire. His proposed reforms that would have given equal status to the Slavs alienated Austrian conservatives and the Hungarians.

On June 18, 1914 Archduke Francis Ferdinand and Countess Sophie’s fourteenth wedding anniversary the couple went to inspect Austrian military maneuvers on the invitation of the Bosnian governor. Prior to the visit, numerous warnings had been issued about possible attempts on Francis Ferdinand’s life. Sophie also expressed doubt about the trip to Bosnia, but the archduke brushed these warnings aside. He refused to be intimidated by the threats against his life. However, the visit came at a time during which Serbian emotions were high. June 28 was the date of the St. Vitus Day festival, which celebrated the Serb victory over the Ottoman Turks in 1389 at the battle of Kosovo. The security precautions were lax. Information about the planned motorcade route through Sarajevo appeared in the local newspaper, and few police officers were stationed in the streets. On the fateful day, a number of Bosnian Serb nationalist members of the Black Hand were in the streets awaiting their opportunity to strike at Francis Ferdinand, the hated symbol of foreign rule. The conspirators were equipped with Serbian pistols and bombs.

One of the young assassins, Nedeljko Cabrinovic, managed to throw a bomb at the archduke’s passing car. A number of people were wounded, but the royal couple remained safe. Despite the failed assassination attempt, the decision was made to continue to the Sarajevo city hall as originally planned. Francis Ferdinand tried to convince his wife after the failed attempt on their lives to leave town, but she refused and continued on with her husband. Confusion followed as the archduke decided to visit one of the wounded officers from the earlier bomb-throwing incident. As the driver stopped to turn the archduke’s car around, nineteen-year-old Gavrilo Princip took out his revolver and advanced just a few steps to his target. He fired two shots. The first killed Sophie, and the second killed Francis Ferdinand. Subsequently, the assassin was wrestled to the ground and arrested. Princip was later put on trial and received a twenty-year sentence but died from tuberculosis in 1918. By 11:30 a.m., the imperial couple was dead, and the way was opened for the ignition of World War I.

The violent deaths of Francis Ferdinand and Countess Sophie provided the pretext for Austria to wage war on Serbia. On July 23, after getting assurances of German support, Austria issued an ultimatum to Serbia designed to be rejected. On July 28, Austria declared war on Serbia. The misguided effort to solve the nationalities problem within the empire set forces in motion that would consequentially lead to the breakup of the polyglot Austro-Hungarian Empire. As Russia went to the aid of Serbia, the system of entangling European alliances and preconceived war plans pushed Europe into war. Few mourned for the departed archduke and countess. Franz Joseph decided not to attend the funeral. Francis Ferdinand was buried at Artstetten castle instead of the usual Habsburg burial crypt in Vienna. To meet the demands of court protocol, Sophie’s coffin received fewer decorations and was placed lower than that of her husband.

Significance

Archduke Francis Ferdinand stands as a distant historical figure. During his lifetime, the archduke was viewed as a biased man lacking charm. He made limited contributions to the politics and government of the empire. His schemes for the reform of the Austro-Hungarian Empire represented a calculated effort to hold the multinational empire together that held little chance of eventual success. Francis Ferdinand’s chief claim to historical importance remains the part he played in the chain of events that led to the outbreak of World War I . He stands as the pretext for Austrian action rather than the cause. However, the story of Francis Ferdinand and his wife Sophie remains one of personal tragedy for a man who signed away the birthright of his children to marry the woman he loved.

Bibliography

Cassels, Lavender. The Archduke and the Assassin: Sarajevo, June 28th, 1914. London: Frederick Muller, 1984. A brief but informative dual biography of Francis Ferdinand and his assassin, Gavrilo Princip. The author maintains an objective tone and offers a good treatment of the nationalities issue and the difficulties in the Balkans.

Dedijer, Vladimir. The Road to Sarajevo. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1966. This book makes use of extensive archival materials to provide a comprehensive study of the background to the assassination.

Lafore, Laurence. The Long Fuse: An Interpretation of the Origins of World War I. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1965. This is one of the classic studies of the origins of the war and is especially good in dealing with Austria, the murder of the archduke, and the role of Austria in the coming of war. Lafore argues that the threat of Serbian nationalism to the integrity of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was the key conflict that produced war in 1914.

Mason, John W. The Dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, 1867-1918. 2d ed. London: Longman, 1997. This survey provides the broad historical context for understanding the problems facing the dual monarchy that led to the archduke’s death and the breakup of the empire.

May, Arthur J. The Passing of the Hapsburg Monarchy, 1914-1918. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1966. This is a two-volume study of the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire that illustrates the impact of World War I.

Ponting, Clive. Thirteen Days: The Road to the First World War. London: Chatto and Windus, 2002. Ponting’s investigation of the causes of World War I begins with a re-creation of Francis Ferdinand’s assassination and its fallout, and describes how subsequent events spiraled out of control, resulting in world conflict.

Remak, Joachim. Sarajevo: The Story of a Political Murder. New York: Criterion Books, 1959. Remak provides a well-written account of the assassination. Provides a useful character sketch of Francis Ferdinand. Attention is also given to the funeral and the trial of the conspirators.

Taylor, A. J. P. History of World War I. London: Octopus Books, 1974. Taylor provides an instructive but opinionated overview of the war. The section on the events leading up to the war and the assassination of Francis Ferdinand are particularly notable.