The First Moroccan Crisis or the Tangier Crisis was an

international crisis The term international crisis is a widespread term without a single common definition. To some, it involves "a sequence of interactions between the governments of two or more sovereign states in severe conflict, short of actual war, but involving ...

between March 31, 1905, and April 7, 1906, over the status of

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

wanted to challenge

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

's growing control over Morocco, aggravating France and Great Britain. The crisis was resolved by the Algeciras Conference of 1906, a conference of mostly European countries that affirmed French control; this worsened German relations with both France and Britain and helped enhance the new Anglo-French Entente.

Kaiser's visit

On 31 March 1905 Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany arrived at

Tangier Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital city, capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Moroc ...

and conferred with representatives of Sultan Abdelaziz of Morocco. The Kaiser toured the city on the back of a white horse. In a speech given at the German legation, the Kaiser declared he had come to support the sovereignty of the Sultan—a statement which amounted to a provocative challenge to French influence in Morocco. The Sultan subsequently rejected a set of French-proposed governmental reforms and issued invitations to major world powers to a

conference A conference is a meeting, often lasting a few days, which is organized on a particular subject, or to bring together people who have a common interest. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always d ...

which would advise him on necessary reforms.

French response

Germany sought a multilateral conference where the French could be called to account before other European powers. The French foreign minister, Théophile Delcassé, took a defiant line, holding that there was no need for such a conference. In response, Count

Bernhard von Bülow Bernhard Heinrich Karl Martin, Prince of Bülow ( ; 3 May 1849 – 28 October 1929) was a German politician who served as the chancellor of the German Empire, imperial chancellor of the German Empire and minister-president of Prussia from 1900 to ...

, the German Chancellor, threatened war over the issue, although this was a bluff. Kaiser Wilhelm did not want war, stating in Bremen just before he set off: "My study of history hasn't encouraged me to strive for world domination. In the empire of which I dream, the German emperor will be trusted by other countries and must be seen as a honest and peaceful neighbour". The crisis peaked in mid-June. The French cancelled all military leave (15 June) and Germany threatened to sign a defensive alliance with the Sultan (22 June). French Prime Minister Maurice Rouvier refused to risk war with Germany over the issue. Delcassé resigned, as the French government would no longer support his policy. On 1 July France agreed to attend the conference. The crisis continued up to the eve of the conference at Algeciras, with Germany calling up reserve units (30 December) and France moving troops to the German border (3 January).

Algeciras Conference

The Algeciras Conference, lasting from 16 January to 7 April 1906, was called to settle the dispute. Of the 13 nations present, the German representatives found that their only supporter was

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

. A German attempt at compromise was rejected by all but Austria-Hungary. France had firm support from Britain, Russia, Italy, Spain, and the United States. The Germans decided to accept a face-saving compromise agreement that was signed on 31 March 1906.

Consequence

Although the Algeciras Conference temporarily solved the First Moroccan Crisis, it only worsened the tensions between the Triple Alliance and

Triple Entente The Triple Entente (from French meaning "friendship, understanding, agreement") describes the informal understanding between the Russian Empire, the French Third Republic, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was built upon th ...

that ultimately led to the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The First Moroccan Crisis also showed that the

Entente Cordiale The Entente Cordiale (; ) comprised a series of agreements signed on 8 April 1904 between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and the French Third Republic, French Republic which saw a significant improvement in Fr ...

was strong, as Britain had defended France in the crisis. The crisis can be seen as a reason for the

Anglo-Russian Entente The Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907 (), or Convention between the United Kingdom and Russia relating to Persia, Afghanistan, and Tibet (; ), was signed on August 31, 1907, in Saint Petersburg. It ended the two powers' longstanding rivalry in Cen ...

and the Anglo-Franco-Spanish Pact of Cartagena being signed the following year. Kaiser Wilhelm II was angry at being humiliated and was determined not to back down again, which led to the German involvement in the Second Moroccan Crisis.

Kaiser's visit

French response

Algeciras Conference

Consequence

See also

References

Further reading