Nationalism, or the pride people feel about their own country or ethnic group, was one of the causes of World War I. The passage below gives an example of how nationalism led to war. Read the passage. Then answer the question. In 1908, Austria-Hungary took control of territories known as Bosnia and Herzegovina. Many people in these territories and the nearby country of Serbia were angry. They believed Bosnia and Herzegovina should be controlled by Slavic people, or members of an ethnic group that spoke Slavic languages such as Serbian or Russian. Many nationalist groups formed hoping to free Bosnia and Herzegovina from foreign rule. Young Bosnia was one of these groups. One of its members was Gavrilo Princip, a 19-year-old from a Serbian family. On June 28, 1914, while Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary was visiting Bosnia, Princip shot and killed both the archduke and his wife. The royal couple's murder infuriated Austria-Hungary. With Germany's support, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. This assassination proved to be a nationalistic "spark" that helped to ignite the flames of war across Europe.
Nationalism heightened tensions between various countries and ethnic groups, leading to a series of alliances and a desire for revenge. The murder of Archduke Francis Ferdinand was not just a political assassination; it was a reflection of deep-seated nationalistic feelings and aspirations for independence among the Slavic peoples. This event escalated into a conflict that involved multiple nations, turning regional tensions into a full-scale war—the Great War, later known as World War I.