What was the role of Serbia in the events that led to the outbreak of Research Paper

What was the role of Serbia in the events that led to the outbreak of the First World War - Research Paper Example There were different factors such as imperialism, nationalism as well as the formation of different alliances between various countries which finally resulted into the emergence of war. The immediate causes of the war were even discussed during that era wherein major powers of the world at that time blamed each other for bringing the situation to a point where War broke out . (Taylor, 1980) Serbia was most instrumental and probably one of the key reasons as to why First World War took place. What role Serbia played in the outbreak of First World War therefore is an issue which attracted attention of many historians over the period of time. The assassination of Franz Ferdinand and the subsequent events which unfolded therefore gave rise to the need for developing broader understanding of the events which lead to war. Though the war started with the attack from Austria- Hungary on Serbia to potentially avenge the murder however, the overall political reasons for this war were much deeper. (Bourne, 1994) Before discussing the role of Serbia in the events which lead to the First World War, it is important that a general historical introduction of Serbia and its position before the war should be discussed. Serbia fell under the rule of Ottoman Empire in 16th century when it was conquered by Ottomans and were subsequently put under the rule for more than 300 years. The Ottoman conquest became possible due to the internal conflict within the Kingdom of Serbia and resultantly the State as a whole weakened. Serbia remained under the control of Ottoman Empire for more than 300 years and it was only in the beginning of the 20th century that it started to consider a separation from the empire and develop its own separate identity. It is also important to note that the organized revolt in Serbia against Ottoman Empire started during the 19th century and Serbia was able to free some area even during the 19th Century. It was