The Balkans.
The Balkan Peninsula.
powder keg of Europe
powder keg of Europe
The Balkan Peninsula
The Balkans.
The Balkan Peninsula
The Balkans
That explosive region was the Balkans, and that was where the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand took place, thereby setting off WW I.
The Balkans were referred to as the "powder keg of Europe" due to the region's complex mix of ethnic tensions, nationalist movements, and geopolitical rivalries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This volatility was exacerbated by the decline of the Ottoman Empire, which left a power vacuum and competing interests among European powers. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo in 1914, rooted in these tensions, sparked World War I, illustrating the region's potential to ignite larger conflicts. Thus, the Balkans symbolized the precarious balance of power in Europe, where a single spark could lead to widespread war.
The Powder Keg of Europe is also called Balkan Powder Keg. The Balkans are Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro, Romania, and Serbia.
Several nationalist uprising had broken out in the Balkans.