Bosnia and Herzegovina: Foreign Domination

Bosnia and Herzegovina's economy declined in the 1700s as the Ottoman Empire suffered losses in Europe. Physical remoteness facilitated the retention of medieval social structure, including serfdom (remnants of which lasted until the 20th cent.). Frustration with Ottoman rule resulted in a revolt in the early 1830s, led by Husein Gradaščević, that unsuccessfully sought autonomy for Bosnia. Refusal by the Turkish to institute reforms led to a peasant uprising in 1875 that soon came to involve outside powers and led to the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78. After the war, the Congress of Berlin (1878) placed Bosnia and Herzegovina under Austro-Hungarian administration and occupation, while recognizing the sovereignty of the Ottoman sultan. Austria-Hungary improved economic conditions in the area but sought unsuccessfully to combat rising Serb nationalism, which mounted further when Bosnia and Herzegovina were completely annexed in 1908.

The assassination (1914) of Archduke Francis Ferdinand by a Serb nationalist in Sarajevo precipitated World War I. In 1918, Bosnia and Herzegovina were annexed to Serbia. The dismemberment of Yugoslavia during World War II led to Bosnia and Herzegovina's incorporation into the German puppet state of Croatia. Much partisan guerrilla warfare raged in the mountains of Bosnia during the war. In 1946, Bosnia and Herzegovina became one of the six constituent republics of Yugoslavia. Under the Communist regime Bosnia remained relatively undeveloped. Economic problems and ethnic quarrels during the 1980s led to widespread dissatisfaction with the central government.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• Independence and Civil War
• Foreign Domination
• Early History
• Government
• Economy
• Land and People
• Bibliography

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