Gavrilo Princip photo, retrieved from newstrick.com
Life was hard for the Serbs living in Bosnia, including the Princip family. Petar Princip and his wife lived in a house which had belonged to his family for many generations. Of the nine children born to Petar and his wife, six dies in infancy. He owned about 4 acres of land on which it was impossible to grow enough grain to feed his family, and he had to pay 1/3 of the value of his produce to his Muslim landlord annually. On July 13th, Nana Princip gave birth to a boy. He was sickly and relatives agreed he would not live long. The priest was hurriedly summoned to baptize him, and insisted he be named Gavrilo because he was born on St. Gabriel's day (Cassels, 1984).
To many peoples astonishment, the child survived. He was never robust, always undersized, and was quiet and withdrawn. In primary school be proved to be a superior pupil and a voracious reader. After school. the only entertainment in the village was an occasional selo, when peasants gathered together to drink plum brandy, exchange gossip, and tell stories and legends of the heroic past (Cassels, 1984).
This life was a world away from lavish life and Imperial splendor of the Austrian-Hungarian capital, and growing resentment resonated in the air. Greater Serbia propaganda could be found throughout the village and was used to make clear to every Serb where his hope of liberation lay:
"Serbia knows of its great mission to fulfill its destiny... Serbian nationalist mythology stems from the
immortal deeds of Serbian heroes... Our mythology is unique, it has nothing to do with the mythology of
antiquity. The history of the rights of the Serb race is not written down, it is told in the songs of the gulas"
(Cassels, 1984).
When Princip finished primary school in 1907, he was sent to a commercial school, where there was money to be made in the Sarajevo bazaar. Again, Princip was rated a good pupil, and learned much which was not in the curriculum by attending secret meetings. Because Austrians forbade students to form any kind of organization or association, these groups met secretly to discuss literature, ethics, and most importantly, politics Princip also began to read the socialist, nationalist, and anarchist literature which passed from hand to hand. Though at the age of thirteen Princip did not understand much of what he read, Mazzini's (a political philosopher) belief that a country must be liberated by its youth and crusaders willing to sacrifice their lives for liberty and justice, made a lasting impression on him (Cassels, 1984).
Austria-Hungary's proclamation of the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina caused in uproar in Serbia. However, in Bosnia and Herzegovina the proclamation of annexation was received with calm. The schoolboys in the Orthodox Cathedral, including Princip, did not agree with this passive acceptance but did not have any ideas how to set about establishing a resistance network. Some went to Serbia to volunteer for guerrilla training, but most continued to read Greater Serbia propaganda with no significant action (Cassels, 1984).
In June 1910, Bogdan Zerajic, a 22 year-old orthodox Serb from Herzegovina, attempted to kill the iron-fisted Governor of Bosnia and Herzegovina General Marijan Veresanin. The five bulltets Zerajic fired, along with the fatal bulled he put in his own brain, made him an inspiration to future Serbian assassins, including Princip. Princip was barely sixteen at the time, but swore that he would follow Zerajic's example, avenge him, and kill one of the oppressors of their people (New World Encyclopedia).
In May of 1912, Princip left Sarajevo and walked to Belgrade, Serbia. It was in Belgrade where Princip and several other Bosnian students met Dragutin Dimitrijevic (also known as Apis), a 34 year-old major who dominated the Black Hands Central Committee. The Black Hand was a terrorist group created by 10 Serbian army officials, with the goal to unite all Serbs. The Black hand maintained that Serbian ambitions could only be achieved through revolutionary actions. After joining the secret Black Hand society, Princip was one of three men sent by Apis to assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand during his visit to Sarajevo on June, 28, 1914 (Cassels, 1984).
To many peoples astonishment, the child survived. He was never robust, always undersized, and was quiet and withdrawn. In primary school be proved to be a superior pupil and a voracious reader. After school. the only entertainment in the village was an occasional selo, when peasants gathered together to drink plum brandy, exchange gossip, and tell stories and legends of the heroic past (Cassels, 1984).
This life was a world away from lavish life and Imperial splendor of the Austrian-Hungarian capital, and growing resentment resonated in the air. Greater Serbia propaganda could be found throughout the village and was used to make clear to every Serb where his hope of liberation lay:
"Serbia knows of its great mission to fulfill its destiny... Serbian nationalist mythology stems from the
immortal deeds of Serbian heroes... Our mythology is unique, it has nothing to do with the mythology of
antiquity. The history of the rights of the Serb race is not written down, it is told in the songs of the gulas"
(Cassels, 1984).
When Princip finished primary school in 1907, he was sent to a commercial school, where there was money to be made in the Sarajevo bazaar. Again, Princip was rated a good pupil, and learned much which was not in the curriculum by attending secret meetings. Because Austrians forbade students to form any kind of organization or association, these groups met secretly to discuss literature, ethics, and most importantly, politics Princip also began to read the socialist, nationalist, and anarchist literature which passed from hand to hand. Though at the age of thirteen Princip did not understand much of what he read, Mazzini's (a political philosopher) belief that a country must be liberated by its youth and crusaders willing to sacrifice their lives for liberty and justice, made a lasting impression on him (Cassels, 1984).
Austria-Hungary's proclamation of the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina caused in uproar in Serbia. However, in Bosnia and Herzegovina the proclamation of annexation was received with calm. The schoolboys in the Orthodox Cathedral, including Princip, did not agree with this passive acceptance but did not have any ideas how to set about establishing a resistance network. Some went to Serbia to volunteer for guerrilla training, but most continued to read Greater Serbia propaganda with no significant action (Cassels, 1984).
In June 1910, Bogdan Zerajic, a 22 year-old orthodox Serb from Herzegovina, attempted to kill the iron-fisted Governor of Bosnia and Herzegovina General Marijan Veresanin. The five bulltets Zerajic fired, along with the fatal bulled he put in his own brain, made him an inspiration to future Serbian assassins, including Princip. Princip was barely sixteen at the time, but swore that he would follow Zerajic's example, avenge him, and kill one of the oppressors of their people (New World Encyclopedia).
In May of 1912, Princip left Sarajevo and walked to Belgrade, Serbia. It was in Belgrade where Princip and several other Bosnian students met Dragutin Dimitrijevic (also known as Apis), a 34 year-old major who dominated the Black Hands Central Committee. The Black Hand was a terrorist group created by 10 Serbian army officials, with the goal to unite all Serbs. The Black hand maintained that Serbian ambitions could only be achieved through revolutionary actions. After joining the secret Black Hand society, Princip was one of three men sent by Apis to assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand during his visit to Sarajevo on June, 28, 1914 (Cassels, 1984).