Yugoslavism in the context of "Principality of Serbia"

Yugoslavia was a state concept among the South Slavic intelligentsia and later popular masses from the 19th to early 20th centuries that culminated in its realization after the 1918 collapse of Austria-Hungary at the end of World War I and the formation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. However, from as early as 1922 onward, the kingdom was better known colloquially as Yugoslavia (or similar variants); in 1929 the name was made official when the country was formally renamed the "Kingdom of Yugoslavia".

The creation of Yugoslavia has been described as expansionist and irredentist in its approach to foreign policy, and federalist in its approach to politics, with power centralised in the Serb-dominated government. Despite the idea of Yugoslavism having promoted equality among the South Slavic ethnic groups, the new Yugoslav state was ruled by the Serbian Karađorđević dynasty that sought to implement pro-Serb policies throughout the country, leaving minority groups like Croatians and Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims) not feeling represented in the new government. This led to the formation of opposition parties that became identified with particular ethnic groups within the country. Similarly, the concept of Yugoslavism became associated with the idea of a South Slavic nation dominated by Serbs; and in some instances, forced cultural assimilation policies introduced by the Serb-led Yugoslav government. However, the creation of Yugoslavia remained popular even among non-Serbs, as it was seen as a means of unification for South Slavs to protect themselves against non-Slavic powers such as Fascist Italy.

The Illyrian movement (Croatian: Ilirski pokret; Slovene: Ilirsko gibanje) was a pan-South-Slavic cultural and political campaign with roots in the early modern period, and revived by a group of young Croatian intellectuals during the first half of the 19th century, around the years of 1835 to 1863. This movement aimed to create a Croatian national establishment in Austria-Hungary through linguistic and ethnic unity, and through it lay the foundation for cultural and linguistic unification of all South Slavs under the revived umbrella term Illyrian.

Aspects of the movement pertaining to the development of Croatian culture are considered in Croatian historiography to be part of the Croatian national revival (Croatian: Hrvatski narodni preporod).

The July Crisis was a series of interrelated diplomatic and military escalations among the major powers of Europe in mid-1914, which led to the outbreak of World War I. It began on 28 June 1914 when the Bosnian Serb nationalist Gavrilo Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg. A complex web of alliances, coupled with the miscalculations of numerous political and military leaders (who either regarded war as in their best interests, or felt that a general war would not occur), resulted in an outbreak of hostilities amongst most of the major European states by early August 1914.

Following the murder, Austria-Hungary sought to inflict a military blow on Serbia, to demonstrate its own strength and to dampen Serbian support for Yugoslav nationalism, viewing it as a threat to the unity of its multi-national empire. However, Vienna, wary of the reaction of Russia (a major supporter of Serbia), sought a guarantee from its ally, Germany, that Berlin would support Austria in any conflict. Germany guaranteed its support through what came to be known as the "blank cheque", but urged Austria-Hungary to attack quickly to localise the war and avoid drawing in Russia. However, Austro-Hungarian leaders would deliberate into mid-July before deciding to give Serbia a harsh ultimatum, and would not attack without a full mobilisation of the army. In the meantime, France met with Russia, reaffirmed their alliance, and agreed they would support Serbia against Austria-Hungary in the event of a war.

The 6 January Dictatorship (Serbian: Шестојануарска диктатура, Šestojanuarska diktatura; Croatian: Šestosiječanjska diktatura; Slovene: Šestojanuarska diktatura) was a royal dictatorship established in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Kingdom of Yugoslavia after 1929) by King Alexander I (r. 1921–34) with the ultimate goal to create a Yugoslav ideology and a single Yugoslav nation. It began on 6 January 1929, when the king prorogued parliament and assumed control of the state, and ended with the 1931 Yugoslav Constitution.

The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand was one of the key events that led to World War I. Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, were assassinated on 28 June 1914 by Bosnian Serb student Gavrilo Princip. They were shot at close range while being driven through Sarajevo, the provincial capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, formally annexed by Austria-Hungary in 1908.

Princip was part of a group of six Bosnian assassins together with Muhamed Mehmedbašić, Vaso Čubrilović, Nedeljko Čabrinović, Cvjetko Popović and Trifko Grabež coordinated by Danilo Ilić; all but one were Bosnian Serbs and members of a student revolutionary group that later became known as Young Bosnia. The political objective of the assassination was to free Bosnia and Herzegovina of Austro-Hungarian rule and establish a common South Slav ("Yugoslav") state. The assassination precipitated the July Crisis, which led to Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia and the start of World War I.

The Yugoslav Committee (Croatian: Jugoslavenski odbor, Slovene: Jugoslovanski odbor, Serbian: Југословенски одбор, romanized: Jugoslovenski odbor) was a World War I-era, unelected, ad-hoc committee. It largely consisted of émigré Croat, Slovene, and Bosnian Serb politicians and political activists whose aim was the detachment of Austro-Hungarian lands inhabited by South Slavs and unification of those lands with the Kingdom of Serbia. The group was formally established in 1915 and last met in 1919, shortly after the breakup of Austria-Hungary and the establishment of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, which was later renamed Yugoslavia. The Yugoslav Committee was led by its president, the Croat lawyer Ante Trumbić, and, until 1916, by Croat politician Frano Supilo as its vice president.

The members of the Yugoslav Committee had different positions on topics such as the method of unification, the desired system of government, and the constitution of the proposed union state. The bulk of the committee members espoused various forms of Yugoslavism – advocating for either a centralised state or a federation in which lands constituting the new state would preserve a degree of autonomy. The committee was financially supported by donations from the Croatian diaspora, and by the government of the Kingdom of Serbia, led by Nikola Pašić.

Dragutin Dimitrijević (Serbian Cyrillic: Драгутин Димитријевић; 17 August 1876 – 26 June 1917), better known by his nickname Apis (Апис), was a Serbian army officer and chief of the military intelligence section of the Royal Serbian Army general staff in 1913. He is best known as the main leader of the Black Hand, a paramilitary secret society devoted to South Slav irredentism that organised the 1903 overthrow of the Serbian government and assassination of King Alexander I of Serbia and Queen Draga. Many scholars believe that he also sanctioned and helped organize the conspiracy behind the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand on 28 June 1914. This led directly to the July Crisis and the outbreak of World War I.

In 1916, the government in exile of Serbian Prime Minister Nikola Pašić, who considered Dimitrijević's refusal to compromise on South Slav irredentism to represent a serious threat to the secret peace negotiations taking place with Vienna during the Sixtus Affair, filed charges of high treason against the leadership of Unification or Death. Dimitrijević was tried in Thessaloniki before a Serbian Army court martial arraigned by his opponents within the Serbian government. He was found guilty of conspiring to assassinate both the Archduke and Prince Regent Alexander Karađorđević and executed by firing squad, along with two senior associates on 26 June 1917.

Petar II Petrović-Njegoš (Serbian Cyrillic: Петар II Петровић-Његош, pronounced [pětar drûɡi pětroʋitɕ ɲêɡoʃ]; 13 November [O.S. 1 November] 1813 – 31 October [O.S. 19 October] 1851), commonly referred to simply as Njegoš (Његош), was a Prince-Bishop (vladika) of Montenegro, poet and philosopher whose works are widely considered some of the most important in Montenegrin and Serbian literature.

Njegoš was born in the village of Njeguši, near Montenegro's then-capital Cetinje. He was educated at several Serbian monasteries and became the country's spiritual and political leader following the death of his uncle Petar I. After eliminating all initial domestic opposition to his rule, he concentrated on uniting Montenegro's tribes and establishing a centralized state. He introduced regular taxation, formed a personal guard and implemented a series of new laws to replace those composed by his predecessor many years earlier. His taxation policies proved extremely unpopular with the tribes of Montenegro and were the cause of several revolts during his lifetime. Njegoš's reign was also defined by the constant political and military struggle with the Ottoman Empire, and by his attempts to expand Montenegro's territory while gaining unconditional recognition from the Sublime Porte. He was a proponent of uniting and liberating the Serb people, willing to concede his princely rights in exchange for a union with Serbia and his recognition as the religious leader of all Serbs (akin to a modern-day Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church). Although unification between the two states did not occur during his lifetime, Njegoš laid some of the foundations of Yugoslavism and introduced modern political concepts to Montenegro. Venerated as a poet and philosopher, Njegoš is well known for his epic poem Gorski vijenac (The Mountain Wreath), which is considered a masterpiece of Serbian and other South Slavic literature, and the national epic of Serbia, Montenegro, and Yugoslavia. Njegoš has remained influential in Serbia and Montenegro, as well in neighboring countries.