It is funny how often the butterfly effect appears throughout the history of the world. For those who don’t know, the butterfly effect stipulates that small actions have massive consequences, with the basic example being a butterfly flapping its wings, causing a tornado several thousand miles away. But one of the most important, and possibly indisputable real world effects is when Archduke Franz Ferdinand accidentally created anime, the Japanese animation style.

Before jumping to Archduke Franz Ferdinand, we have to go further back in history to the Byzantine Empire. After the fall of the Romans, the Byzantine’s became the most powerful empire in Europe, and their capital, Constantinople, was one of the richest and most prosperous cities in the world. One major reason for this was that, in Constantinople, was the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits. These straits were, and still are, the only way for ships to traverse the Black and Mediterranean seas. However, after the reign of Emperor Justinian, the Byzantine empire started to crumble, and more nations attempted to take control of the Bosphorus and Dardanelles, until the Ottomans finally took control of Constantinople in 1453. 

However, the Ottomans controlling the strait still left a lot of nations wanting it, especially Russia. The Russians, being far north, had an interesting problem, they had no ice free ports. So, in the 1700’s, the Russians decided that they were finally going to get some ports to build a navy, like the Western Powers, which they admired, but were increasingly at odds with. First, they were going to build a massive port along the Gulf of Finland, which would become St Petersburg, by taking the land from Sweden. Second, they were going to attack Ottoman positions in Crimea, so they could take the strategic port of Stevastopal. The attack was successful, and the Russian Black Sea fleet was formed. However, throughout the 1800’s, the Russian government realized that was not enough, as their ships could never leave the Black Sea. So, in the 1800’s, the Russians attempted to take Constantinople, now Istanbul from the Ottomans so they could have the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits. Finally, in 1878, the Russians came close in the Russian Turkish war, and, although not taking the straits, the Ottoman empire was wrecked. Some land in Anatolia was given to the Russians, and several Balkan nations, such as Bulgaria and Serbia, were given independence.

Serbia was originally taken by the Ottoman Empire in the 1400’s, and they hated it. Because the Ottomans were mostly Muslim, while Serbia was Christian Orthodox, and the fact that they would not convert to Islam, the Ottomans decided to get child soldiers from throughout the Balkans, to serve as Janissaries, who are elite Ottoman soldiers who are converted to Islam, and serve the emperor, although sometimes they catch on. So, the Serbian people hated their Ottoman overlords, so they were clearly happy when they were independent. However, there were still some problems. Although Serbia was independent, most Serbs were outside of the newly independent country, especially in Bosnia. Also, the Serbs wanted Kosovo, which held significance as that’s where the Battle of Kosovo took place, which was when the Ottomans defeated the Serbian Empire. However, they got Nis, which was mostly Albanian populated. So, they deported the Albanian population, which fled to Kosovo, which already had a sizable Albanian population. After that, the Serbs decided to focus on getting back Bosnia, which was under control of the Austro Hungarian Empire. Most Serbs in Bosnia hated Austro Hungarian rule, so there was heavy resentment towards their overlords. However, an opportunity was arising in the Southern Balkans. After the Young Turk Revolution, there were several independence movements arising in Macedonia, so, the Balkan nations of Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria and Montenegro formed the Balkan League, and initiated the First Balkan war to rid the Ottomans from the European Continent. However, after the First Balkan War, the Balkan League fell apart, especially after Bulgaria invaded their former allies, initiating the Second Balkan War, where Bulgaria was decisively defeated. Bulgaria, now with heavy resentment after the Second Balkan war, started making ties with Austria Hungary, Serbia’s enemy.

During this time, tensions in Europe were rising quickly. After Doctor Livingstone explored Africa, several European Nations raced to colonize the Continent, and gain as much from it as possible. On top of that, colonization was also beginning in South-East Asia. Another contributing factor was the increasing rivalry between Germany and Britain. Germany had recently unified, after centuries in the Holy Roman Empire, and had begun building a massive navy that could rival the British. On top of that, they defeated France in the Franco Prussian War like it was nothing. This would cause old enemies, like Britain, France, and Russia, to make an alliance, the Entente.  Meanwhile, Germany, Austria Hungary, and Italy made the Central Powers.(Italy later switched sides). Finally, after several years of rising tensions, what finally began the war was unexpected. In Bosnia, tensions were rising between the Serbian population, and the Austro Hungarian government. It was so high, that the Archduke of Austria, Franz Ferdinand, decided to visit Sarajevo, the biggest city in Bosnia. Several Serb nationalists were at the scene, and one of these nationalists was a man named Gravileo Princep. As soon as he saw the Archduke’s car, he shot him and his wife. After this, Austria demanded an explanation from the Serbian government, who they suspected had something to do with the assaination. So, they prepared to invade Serbia. The Germans were allied with the Austro Hungarians, so they supported them. The Russians saw themselves as the protector of all Slavic peoples, so they supported the Serbs. The French supported the Russians, so Germany declared war on France, and invaded France through Belgium. Britain was initially neutral, but after the Germans invaded neutral Belgium, they joined their side. This would begin World War One.

World War 1 would become one of the deadliest conflicts in all of history. After the Germans invaded France, the French started to retreat. However soon, the Germans were within 50 miles of Paris, and the French realized that, if they didn’t do something, Paris would fall. So, the British and French made one final stand on the Marne river, where they managed to flank the Germans. So, they pushed the Germans back, but, soon, the Germans began to build trenches and fortifications, which the allies also did. This would lead to 4 long years of the allies and Germans throwing hundreds of thousands of soldiers to the meat grinder. The Eastern front was no better, as both sides also threw their soldiers at the enemy, and both sides had low supplies in the Russian plains. Finally, in 1918, with millions of Americans arriving in France, and a massive allied offensive, the Central Powers were defeated. However, there were still major problems.

Because the Germans were defeated in World War 1, the Allies wrote harsh terms. One of the main problems was that the Germans would have to pay massive amounts of reparations to the allies. These reparations were so huge that they were only payed in 2010. Obviously, there was massive backlash in Germany, as they did not have that kind of money, as they spent it already on the war. One of the people who hated this harsh punishment the most was an Austrian Painter with a funny mustache, whose name was Adolf Hitler. He believed that Germany was the greatest country on earth, but something, or someone was holding them back, which he deducted were the Jews and the Allies. His great speech giving skills made him loved across Germany, and in 1932, he became chancellor, where he soon consolidated power. Meanwhile, in Italy, because they did not get nearly enough territory out of World War One, they made Benito Mussolini prime minister, where he became a dictator. In Asia, Japan sought to expand beyond the home islands, and into China. The three made an alliance, the axis,  and tensions quickly rose with the allies. In 1939, Germany invaded Poland, beginning World War 2.

World War 2 became even deadlier than the first one. First, the Axis made rapid advancements across Europe, taking France in only 6 weeks, to the point that  Britain was the only threat on the continent. Meanwhile, Japan had quickly taken most of the population centers of China. During this time, the people of Axis occupied territories were treated like animals, as, in Europe, the Nazis massacred Jews, Slavs, and Roma peoples, while in Asia, the Japanese brutally executed 200,000 Chinese in the Rape of Nanjing. However, in 1941, the Germans invaded the Soviet Union, but could not combat the cold. Meanwhile, the Americans joined the war, and started making rapid advancements against Germany and Japan. In May 1945, the Germans surrendered, and the Americans, Soviets, British and French occupied the country. In July, the Americans built the Atomic Bomb, which could destroy a whole city. In August, it was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which caused Japan to surrender.

Because of them being a major Axis Power,  Japan was occupied by the United States. While the Japanese leadership were punished for the crimes against humanity they did, and the military was disbanded, while their constitution made war illegal, they also helped rebuild the country. In the 1950’s and 1960’s, the economy boomed much faster than expected, becoming one of the richest countries in the world. This was partially due to their high quality exports of manufactured goods, such as cars, computers, microchips, and Game Boy consoles. With all this much money, rather than spending it on the military, the Japanese people could work on simpler pleasures, such as art and music. As the film industry advanced, some Japanese made the animation style we now know as Anime.

So, because of a very long cause and effect sequence, it can possibly be indisputable that, accidentally, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the creator of Anime, and the long chain of events that led up to 1914. It is funny how often the butterfly effect appears throughout World History.