How did the Moroccan crisis of 1905 begin? On March 31, 1905, Kaiser Wilhelm II from Germany arrived in Tangier, Morocco, and was invited to the summit with representatives of Sultan Abdeleziz from Morocco. Kaiser went on a city tour on a white horse. He stated that he came to support the sovereignty of the Sultan - 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 major world powers at a conference at which he was advised to carry out the necessary reforms.
First Moroccan crisis (1905 - 1906)
Germany sought a multilateral conference at which the French could be held accountable to other European powers. French Foreign Minister Toofil Delcassus made a defiant speech in which he announced that such a conference was not needed. With this statement, he added fuel to the flaming flames of the Moroccan crisis. Count Bernhard von Bülow, German Chancellor, 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 Rouvier refused to risk peace with Germany because of this issue. Delcasse resigned as the French government no longer supported his policies. On July 1, France agreed to attend the conference.
Further development
The crisis continued on the eve of the conference in Algeciras, and Germany called up reserve units (December 30), and France sent troops to the German border (January 3). The conflict continued to escalate.
Conference
The Algeciras Conference was designed to resolve the dispute, which lasted from January 16 to April 7, 1906. Of the 13 countries present, representatives of Germany found that their only supporter was Austria-Hungary. The German attempt to compromise was rejected by everyone except them. France was supported by Britain, Russia, Italy, Spain and the United States. On March 31, 1906, the Germans decided to accept a 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.
Effects
Although the Algeciras Conference temporarily resolved the first Moroccan crisis, it only exacerbated the tension between the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente. This tension ultimately led to World War I.
The Moroccan crisis of 1905-1906 also showed that the Entente was strong, as Britain defended France during the crisis. The crisis can be seen as a turn for the formation of the Anglo-Russian Entente and the Anglo-Franco-Spanish Cartagena Pact, signed next year. Kaiser Wilhelm II was angry that he was humiliated, and decided not to back down the next time, this led to Germany's involvement in the second crisis.
Second crisis
The Agadir crisis, or the 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 the expansion of France, 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 French Congo, while Spain was satisfied with the change in the border with Morocco. However, the British cabinet was alarmed by Germany’s aggressiveness towards France. David Lloyd George delivered a dramatic speech, Mansion, in which he condemned German behavior as unbearable humiliation. There was talk of war, and Germany eventually retreated. Relations between Berlin and London remained unsatisfactory.
International context
Anglo-German tensions were high at the time, in part because of the arms race between Imperial Germany and Great Britain. Affected and the efforts of Germany to create a fleet, two-thirds more than the British. Germany's efforts were aimed at testing relations between Britain and France and, possibly, intimidating the British with an alliance with France. Compensation requirements were also applied to organize effective French control over Morocco.
Moroccan rebellion
It's time to talk about the causes of the Moroccan crisis (second). In 1911, a revolt took place in Morocco against Sultan Abdelhafid. By early April, the sultan was besieged in his palace in Fez. The French were ready to provide troops to help crush the rebellion under the pretext of protecting their subjects and stability, so they sent a military convoy to Morocco at the end of April. The Spaniards helped them. On June 8, the Spanish army occupied Larash, and three days later - Alcazarquivir. This was the first tension between the great powers in the 20th century, because it is rightly believed 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 under the pretext of protecting the commercial interests of Germany. The light cruiser Berlin arrived a few days later, replacing the gunboat. Immediately followed by an immediate reaction from the French and British.
UK involvement
The British government tried to keep France from taking hasty measures and dissuading her from sending troops to Fez, but failed. In April, the British Foreign Secretary, Sir Edward Gray, wrote: “What the French are doing is not wise, but we cannot intervene under our agreement.” He felt that his hands were tied and that he should support France.
The British were worried about the arrival of the German Panther in Morocco. The Royal Navy was based in Gibraltar and southern Spain. They believed that the Germans wanted to turn Agadir into their naval base on the Atlantic. Britain sent battleships to Morocco to be present if the war broke out. As during the previous Moroccan crisis, British support given to France showed the strength of the Entente.
German financial crisis
In the midst of this crisis, Germany was hit by financial turmoil. The stock market fell 30 percent in one day, the public began to cash out foreign currency notes for gold. The Reichsbank lost a fifth of its gold reserves in one month. It was rumored that the French finance minister had organized this crisis. Faced with the opportunity to bring down the gold standard, the Kaiser stepped back and allowed the French to take over most of Morocco.
Conversation
On July 7, the German ambassador in Paris informed the French government that Germany had no territorial aspirations in Morocco and would negotiate a protectorate of France on the basis of “compensation” for Germany in the French region of the Congo and preservation of its economic interests in Morocco. German notes, presented on July 15, contained a proposal to cede the northern part of Cameroon and Togoland, demanded 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 delivered 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 a world at this price will be humiliating for a great country like ours. ” The speech was interpreted by Germany as a warning that it could not force France to settle the Moroccan crisis on its terms.
Convention
On November 4, Franco-German negotiations led to a convention called the Franco-German Agreement. According to him, Germany adopted France’s position in Morocco in exchange for territory in the French equatorial African colony in Middle Congo (now the Republic of Congo). This is an area of 275,000 km 2 (106,000 sq. Miles), known as Neukamerun. She became part of the German colony of Cameroon. The area is partially boggy (sleeping sickness was widespread there), but it gave Germany access to the Congo River, so it ceded to France a small stretch of territory southeast of Fort Lamy (now part of Chad).
With the surrender of Abd al-Hafid and the signing of the Treaty of Fes (March 30, 1912), France established a complete protectorate over Morocco, destroying what remained of the official independence of this country.
Final result
Instead of frightening Britain with German actions, increased fear and hostility brought it closer to France. British support for France during the crisis strengthened the Entente, exacerbating the Anglo-German alienation that ended with World War I.
It was alleged that this incident led British Minister of the Interior 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, abundant local coal was preferable to imported oil (mainly from Persia). But the speed and efficiency that the new fuel provided convinced Churchill that it was the right choice. Churchill subsequently asked Prime Minister H.H. Asquith to become the First Lord of the Admiralty, and he accepted this offer.
The crisis led Britain and France to conclude a naval agreement, according to which the Royal Navy promised to protect the northern coast of France from the German attack, while the French themselves concentrated their fleet in the western Mediterranean and agreed to protect British interests there. Thus, they were able to establish ties with their North African colonies, and Britain concentrated more forces in domestic waters to withstand the German fleet.
The German colony of Cameroon (together with Togoland) was captured by the Allies at the beginning of the First World War.
In Western European history, 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.