We often hear about how I’m only one person, what can I do? As it turns out, a lot if history has anything to say about it.
A young man, wanting freedom for his country went about to gain that freedom. However, his actions would shape an entire century for better or worse.
He was a young revolutionary and wanted to gain his country’s freedom by any means necessary. In fact he has seen a lot according to his young life, so much so he wanted to do something and made this quote:
I am the son of peasants and I know what is happening in the villages. That is why I wanted to take revenge, and I regret nothing.
And about forming a country for which he was so proud of, enough to kill, he said this:
“I am a Yugoslav nationalist, aiming for the unification of all Yugoslavs, and I do not care what form of state, but it must be freed from Austria.”
A young man who was so indoctrinated by propaganda for a nation which didn’t exist, he was willing to do the unthinkable.
So, on June 28, 1914 he set out with a group to assassinate the Archduke of Austria-Hungry, and a man, who perhaps, was really his best hope for getting what he wanted. Instead, he shot and killed another man, setting off a chain reaction which was all but unstoppable.
The cost, some 16 million died in the trenches of the first great world war, and killed many civilians. The result would be a rapid world-wide epidemic made worse by men returning from Europe.
The war would create the pathway for the next great war, one which would see almost 3% of Earth’s population die and spread across the globe. The result of that war would create the Cold War which helped shape our current world today.
Gavrilo Princip, with a vision of propaganda set out and set in motion the events which would shape our world today.
For better or worse, he shows that one can shape the world, but the results may not be to our liking. Yogoslavia no longer exists, and his home area is still an area of unrest in Europe with civil wars still brewing.
Was he successful, no. He didn’t have a clear endgame like so many which is a true shame because you can effect things, but without a plan the result could be even worse for everyone.
