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Independence movements

In 1848 the Austrians put down a violent uprising, seeking Hungarian independence. However, the Hungarians did gain a measure of self-government under the overall rule of the emperor, with the Habsburg possessions being rechristened in 1867 as the Austro-Hungarian Empire. At the same time there were unsuccessful uprisings by the Serbs in Novi Sad against their Austrian rulers and by Romanians in Wallachia against Ottoman rule. Although these were put down by a combination of Russian and Turkish forces, they started a process by which Wallachia and Moldavia gained independence (as Romania) from Turkey during the Russo-Turkish war of 1877–1878. This same war also saw Bulgaria and Serbia escape from Turkish rule and represented the beginning of Russian interest and influence in the region.

The First World War and its consequences

The shots that started the First World War (1914–1918) occurred in Sarajevo (Bosnia) when a Serb nationalist assassinated the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. Austria retaliated by attacking Serbia, starting a snowball effect in which a series of alliances drew almost all of the nations of Europe into the conflict.