How did the Moroccan Crisis of 1905 start? On March 31, 1905, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany arrived in Tangier, Morocco, and was invited to a summit with representatives of Sultan Abdeleziz of Morocco. The Kaiser went on a tour of the city on a white horse. He declared that he had come to support the Sultan's sovereignty, a statement that represented a provocative challenge to French influence in Morocco. This was the main reason for the first Moroccan crisis of 1905-1906. The Sultan subsequently rejected a set of French reforms proposed by the government and issued invitations to the major world powers to a conference where he was advised to implement the necessary reforms.
First Moroccan Crisis (1905 - 1906)
Germany sought a multilateral conference where the French could be held accountable to other European powers. French Foreign Minister Toophile Delcasse delivered a speechdefiant speech in which he announced that such a conference was not needed. With this statement, he added fuel to the growing flames of the Moroccan crisis. Count Bernhard von Bülow, Chancellor of Germany, threatened war over this issue. The crisis peaked in mid-June. The French canceled all military leave (June 15) and Germany threatened to sign a defensive alliance with the Sultan (June 22). French Prime Minister Maurice Rouviere refused to risk peace with Germany over the issue. Delcasset resigned as the French government no longer supported his policies. On July 1, France agreed to take part in the conference.
Further development
The crisis continued on the eve of the Algeciras conference, with Germany calling in reserve units (December 30) and France withdrawing troops to the German border (January 3). The conflict continued to escalate.
Conference
The Algeciras Conference was intended to settle a dispute that lasted from January 16 to April 7, 1906. Of the 13 countries present, the German representatives found that their only supporter was Austria-Hungary. The German attempt to compromise was rejected by all but them. France was supported by Britain, Russia, Italy, Spain and the United States. On March 31, 1906, the Germans decided to accept the compromise agreement, which was signed on May 31, 1906. France agreed to take control of the Moroccan police but otherwise retained effective control over political and financial affairs in Morocco.
Consequences
Although the Algeciras conference temporarily resolved the first Moroccan crisis, it only exacerbated tensions between the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente. This tension eventually led to World War I.
The Moroccan Crisis of 1905 - 1906 also showed that the Entente was strong as Britain protected France in a crisis. The crisis can be seen as a turning point for the formation of the Anglo-Russian Entente and the Anglo-French-Spanish Pact of Cartagena signed the following year. Kaiser Wilhelm II was angry at being humiliated and decided not to back down next time, this led to German involvement in the second crisis.
Second Crisis
The Agadir Crisis, or second Moroccan (also known as Panthersprung in German), was brief. It was caused by the deployment of a significant force of French troops in Morocco in April 1911. Germany did not object to French expansion, but wanted territorial compensation for itself. Berlin threatened war, sent a gunboat and with this step aroused German nationalism. Negotiations between Berlin and Paris resolved the crisis: France took Morocco as a protectorate in exchange for German territorial concessions in the area of the French Congo, while Spain was satisfied with changing the border with Morocco. However, the British cabinet was alarmed by Germany's aggressiveness towards France. David Lloyd George delivered a dramatic "Mansion" speech in which he denounced German behavior as an unbearable humiliation. There was talk of war, and Germany eventually retreated. Relations between Berlin and London remained unsatisfactory.
International context
At the time, Anglo-German tensions were high, in part due to the arms race between Imperial Germany and Great Britain. Germany's efforts to create a fleet two-thirds larger than the British also had an effect. The German effort was intended to test the relationship between Britain and France, and possibly to intimidate the British with an alliance with France. Compensatory demands were also applied to establish effective French control over Morocco.
Moroccan uprising
It's time to talk about the causes of the Moroccan crisis (second). In 1911, a rebellion took place in Morocco against Sultan Abdelhafid. By early April, the sultan was besieged in his palace in Fez. The French were willing to contribute troops to help put down the uprising on the pretext of protecting their subjects and stability, so they sent a battle column to Morocco in late April. The Spaniards helped them. On June 8, the Spanish army occupied Larache, and three days later, Alcazarquivir. This was the first tension between the great powers in the 20th century, so it is rightly considered that the Moroccan and Bosnian crises were a prelude to the First World War.
Actions of the German Navy
On July 1, the German gunboat Panther arrived at the port of Agadir on the pretext of protecting German trade interests. The light cruiser Berlin arrived a few days later, replacinggunboat. There was an immediate reaction from the French and British.
UK participation
The British government tried to keep France from taking hasty action and dissuade her from sending troops to Fez, but failed. In April, the British Foreign Secretary, Sir Edward Grey, wrote: "What the French are doing is not wise, but we cannot interfere under our agreement." He felt that his hands were tied and that he should support France.
The British were concerned about the arrival of the German "Panther" in Morocco. The Royal Navy was based in Gibr altar and southern Spain. They believed that the Germans wanted to turn Agadir into their naval base in the Atlantic. Britain sent battleships to Morocco to be present in the event of a war. As in the previous Moroccan crisis, the British support for France showed the strength of the Entente.
German financial crisis
At the height of this crisis, Germany was hit by financial turmoil. The stock market fell 30 percent in one day, the public began cashing in foreign exchange notes for gold. The Reichsbank lost a fifth of its gold reserves in one month. It was rumored that the French finance minister orchestrated this crisis. Faced with the opportunity to bring down the gold standard, the Kaiser retreated and allowed the French to take over most of Morocco.
Negotiations
July 7, the German Ambassador toParis informed the French government that Germany had no territorial aspirations in Morocco and would negotiate a French protectorate based on "compensating" Germany in the French Congo region and maintaining its economic interests in Morocco. German notes, presented on July 15, contained a proposal to cede the northern part of Cameroon and Togoland, demanding from France their entire territory of the Congo. Later, the transfer of the right to liberate the Belgian Congo was added to these conditions.
On July 21, David Lloyd George gave a speech at the Mansion in London, where he stated that national honor is more valuable than peace: “If Britain is mistreated and its interests are greatly affected, I categorically declare that peace at that price would be humiliating for a great country like ours.” The speech was interpreted by Germany as a warning that it could not impose on France a settlement of the Moroccan crisis on its own terms.
Convention
November 4, Franco-German negotiations led to a convention called the Franco-German Agreement. According to it, Germany accepted the position of France in Morocco in exchange for territory in the French equatorial African colony in the Middle Congo (now the Republic of the Congo). This is an area of 275,000 km2 (106,000 sq miles) known as Neukameroon. It became part of the German colony of Cameroon. The area is partially swampy (sleeping sickness was widespread there), but it gave Germany access to the Congo River, so she ceded to Francea small patch of territory southeast of Fort Lamy (now part of Chad).
With the surrender of Abd al-Hafid and the signing of the Treaty of Fez (March 30, 1912), France established a full protectorate over Morocco, destroying what was left of that country's official independence.
Final total
Instead of scaring the UK with Germany's actions, heightened fear and hostility brought it closer to France. British support for France during the crisis strengthened the Entente, exacerbating the Anglo-German rift that culminated in World War I.
The incident was said to have led British Home Secretary Winston Churchill to conclude that the Royal Navy must convert its energy source from coal to oil in order to maintain its superiority. Until then, local abundant coal was preferred over imported oil (mostly from Persia). But the speed and efficiency that the new fuel provided convinced Churchill that this was the right choice. Churchill subsequently asked Prime Minister H. H. Asquith to become First Lord of the Admir alty, an offer he accepted.
The crisis led Britain and France to conclude a naval agreement, under which the Royal Navy promised to protect the northern coast of France from German attack, while the French themselves concentrated their fleet in the western Mediterranean and agreed to protect British interests there. In this way they were able to establish links with their North African colonies, andBritain has concentrated more forces in home waters to counter the German fleet.
The German colony of Cameroon (together with Togoland) was captured by the Allies at the start of World War I.
In the history of Western Europe, the Agadir Crisis remains the most famous example of "gunboat diplomacy".
German philosopher and historian Oswald Spengler said the second Moroccan crisis inspired him to write Death of the West.
