Bosnia and Herzegovina History

History
Bosnia and Herzegovina sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina, and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeastern Europe in the Balkan Peninsula. Sarajevo is the capital and largest city.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is an almost landlocked country – it has a narrow coast at the Adriatic Sea, about 12 miles long surrounding the town of Neum. The inland, Bosnia, is a geographically larger region and has a moderate continental climate, with hot summers and cold and snowy winters. The southern tip, Herzegovina, has a Mediterranean climate and plain topography.

Bosnia was first settled by the Slavic peoples that populate the area today from the 6th through to the 9th centuries. In the 12th century the Banate of Bosnia was established, which evolved into the Kingdom of Bosnia in the 14th century, after which it was annexed into the Ottoman Empire, under whose rule it remained from the mid-15th to the late 19th centuries. The Ottomans brought Islam to the region, and altered much of the cultural and social outlook of the country. Russia defeated the Ottomans in 1878. After this, Bosnia was annexed to Austro-Hungarian, which lasted up until World War I. In the interwar period, Bosnia and Herzegovina was part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and after World War II, it was granted full republic status in the newly formed Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Following the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the republic proclaimed independence in 1992, which was followed by the Bosnian War, lasting until late 1995.

The country is home to three main ethnic groups (officially known as "constituent peoples", as specified in the constitution). Bosniaks are the largest group of the three, with Serbs second and Croats third. A native of Bosnia and Herzegovina, regardless of ethnicity, is usually identified in English as a Bosnian. Minorities, defined under the constitutional nomenclature others, include Jews, Roma, Poles, Ukrainians and Turks. Bosnia and Herzegovina has a bicameral legislature and a three-member Presidency composed of a member of each major ethnic group. However, the central government's power is highly limited, as the country is largely decentralized and comprises two autonomous entities: the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska, with a third region, the Brčko District, governed under local government. The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is complex and consists of 10 cantons.

Bosnia and Herzegovina rank highly in terms of human development, and has an economy dominated by the industry and agriculture sectors, followed by the tourism and service sectors. The country has a social security and universal healthcare system, and primary- and secondary-level education is tuition-free.

Timeline
1463-1868 The four centuries of Ottoman rule also had a drastic impact on Bosnia's population make-up and a native Slavic-speaking Muslim community emerged and eventually became the largest of the religious groups due to lack of strong Christian church organizations and continuous rivalry between the Orthodox and Catholic churches 1878 - In the Congress of Berlin, the Austro-Hungarian obtained the occupation and administration of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Tensions remained and a mass emigration of Bosnians occurred 1918 - Bosnia and Herzegovina joined the South Slav Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, soon renamed Yugoslavia 1929 - The establishment of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia 1941 - Yugoslavia was invaded by Germany 1941-1945 - Yugoslavia was conquered by Nazi forces in World War II, all of Bosnia was ceded to the Nazi regime and an estimated 209,000 Serbs and Montenegrins were killed on the territory of Bosnia–Herzegovina during the war 1946 - More than 300,000 people died in Bosnia and Herzegovina in World War II 1995 - The Srebrenica massacre killed more than 8,000 Bosniak men and boys 1995 - NATO launched a bombing campaign against Republika Srpska and this convinced the Bosnian Serb leadership to consider a negotiated settlement. An estimated 100,000 people were killed in the war, about two-thirds of whom were Bosniak