Editing Franz Joseph I of Austria (section)

=== Bosnia and Herzegovina ===
{{Main|Bosnian Crisis}}
{{See also|Austro-Hungarian campaign in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1878}}
[[File:Franz Josef I of Austria - voice recording (1900).ogg|thumb|Voice recording of the emperor speaking into [[Valdemar Poulsen]]'s magnetic wire recorder at the [[1900 World's Fair]].]]

During the mid-1870s, a series of violent rebellions against [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman rule]] broke out in the Balkans, and the Turks responded with equally violent and oppressive reprisals. Tsar [[Alexander II of Russia]], wanting to intervene against the Ottomans, sought and obtained an agreement with Austria-Hungary.

In the [[Budapest Convention of 1877]], the two powers agreed that Russia would annex southern [[Bessarabia]], and Austria-Hungary would observe a benevolent neutrality toward Russia in the [[Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)|pending war]] with the Turks. As compensation for this support, Russia agreed to Austria-Hungary's annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina.{{sfn|Albertini|2005|p=16}} A scant 15 months later, the Russians imposed on the Ottomans the [[Treaty of San Stefano]], which reneged on the Budapest accord and declared that Bosnia-Herzegovina would be jointly occupied by Russian and Austrian troops.{{sfn|Albertini|2005|p=16}}

The treaty was overturned by the 1878 [[Treaty of Berlin (1878)|Treaty of Berlin]], which allowed sole [[Austro-Hungarian rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina|Austrian occupation of Bosnia-Herzegovina]] but did not specify a final disposition of the provinces.{{clarify|date=June 2016}} That omission was addressed in the Three Emperors' League agreement of 1881, when both Germany and Russia endorsed Austria-Hungary's right to annex Bosnia-Herzegovina.{{sfn|Albertini|2005|p=37}} However, by 1897, under a [[Nicholas II of Russia|new tsar]], the Russian Imperial government had again withdrawn its support for Austrian annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Russian foreign minister, Count [[Mikhail Nikolayevich Muravyov|Mikhail Muravyov]], stated that an Austrian annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina would raise "an extensive question requiring special scrutiny".{{sfn|Albertini|2005|p=94}}

In 1908, the Russian foreign minister, [[Alexander Izvolsky]], offered Russian support, for the third time, for the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by Austria-Hungary, in exchange for Austrian support for the opening of the [[Bosporus Strait]] and the [[Dardanelles]] to Russian warships. Austria's foreign minister, [[Count Alois Lexa von Aehrenthal|Alois von Aehrenthal]], pursued this offer vigorously, resulting in the quid pro quo understanding with Izvolsky, reached on 16 September 1908 at the Buchlau Conference. However, Izvolsky made this agreement with Aehrenthal without the knowledge of Tsar [[Nicholas II]] or his government in St. Petersburg, or any of the other foreign powers including [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Britain]], [[French Third Republic|France]] and [[Kingdom of Serbia|Serbia]].

Based upon the assurances of the Buchlau Conference and the treaties that preceded it, Franz Joseph signed the proclamation announcing the [[annexation]] of Bosnia-Herzegovina into the Empire on 6 October 1908. However a diplomatic crisis erupted, as both the Serbs and the [[Kingdom of Italy|Italians]] demanded compensation for the annexation, which the Austro-Hungarian government refused to entertain. The incident was not resolved until the revision of the Treaty of Berlin in April 1909, exacerbating tensions between Austria-Hungary and the Serbs.