The Algeciras Conference of 1906 took place in

Algeciras Algeciras () is a city and a municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. Located in the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula, near the Strait of Gibraltar, it is the largest city on the Bay of G ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, and lasted from 16 January to 7 April. The purpose of the conference was to find a solution to the First Moroccan Crisis of 1905 between

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 ...

and

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 ...

, which arose as Germany responded to France's effort to establish a

protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over ...

over the independent state 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 was not trying to stop French expansion. Its goal was to enhance its own international prestige, and it failed badly. The result was a much closer relationship between France and Britain that strengthened the Entente Cordiale since both London and Paris were increasingly suspicious and distrustful of Berlin. An even more momentous consequence was the heightened sense of frustration and readiness for war in Germany that spread beyond the political elite to much of the press and most of the political parties except for the Liberals and

Social Democrats Social democracy is a social, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achieving social equality. In modern practice, s ...

on the left. The Pan-German element grew in strength, denounced the government's retreat as treason and stepped up chauvinistic support for war.

Background

Britain and France's '' Entente Cordiale'' of 1904 had defined diplomatic cooperation between them and recognized British authority over Egypt and French control in Morocco (with some Spanish concessions). Germany saw that development putting an end to the rivalry between Britain and France, which would further isolate Germany in European affairs. On 31 March 1905, Germany's Kaiser

Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as th ...

visited Tangier and delivered a speech calling for an international conference to ensure Morocco's independence, with war the alternative. The historian Heather Jones argues that Germany's use of warlike rhetoric was a deliberate diplomatic ploy:

Another German strategy was to stage dramatic gestures, and dangerously play up the threat of war, in the belief that this would impress upon other European powers the importance of consultation with Germany on imperial issues: the fact that France had not considered it necessary to make a bilateral agreement with Germany over Morocco rankled, especially given Germany was deeply insecure about its newly acquired Great Power status. Hence Germany opted for an increase in belligerent rhetoric and, theatrically, Kaiser Wilhelm II dramatically interrupted a Mediterranean cruise to visit Tangier, where he declared Germany's support for the Sultan's independence and integrity of his kingdom, turning Morocco overnight into an international 'crisis.'

German diplomats believed they could convince US President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

to challenge French intervention in Morocco. Roosevelt, who was mediating the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...

and aware of the

US Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

's stance to avoid involvement in European affairs, was disinclined to become involved in the Moroccan crisis. However, with the situation in June 1905 worsening to the point of war between Germany and France and possibly Britain, Roosevelt in July persuaded the French to attend a January peace conference in Algeciras. Germany had hoped that the conference would weaken the Entente Cordiale. Wilhelm II had thought he could form an alliance with France if most of its demands were met. He also thought that better relations with Russia were possible because the Revolution of 1905 and the Russo-Japanese War had put it in a weak ally-hungry position. However, Germany was somewhat excluded in the initial decisions, and British Foreign Secretary Sir Edward Grey showed Britain's support of France in the conference via meetings with French Ambassador Jules Cambon, which made the Entente Cordiale actually grow stronger. Russia likewise wholeheartedly supported France's position in order to secure French financial markets in the hope of acquiring a large loan to recuperate losses incurred by the

. Following its failed attempt to isolate Britain, Germany furthered the growing Anglo-German Naval Race by the passage of the Third Naval Law in 1906. The overall contribution towards the outbreak of 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 ...

can then seem to be the separation of Germany and its allies ( Triple Alliance) of Britain, France and Russia, which the following year became the Triple Entente. The next major event to thicken the tension between them would be the Bosnian Crisis.

Moroccan delegation

Sultan Abdelaziz of Morocco was represented by Muhammad al-Muqri and Muhammad Torres. Al-Muqri expressed frustration at the translation situation and commented: "We're sitting here like statues; we can't understand a thing of what is said." The Moroccan delegation had no choice but to use Abdelqader Benghabrit, an Algerian translator who was present at the conference in the service of France. Another difficulty the Moroccans faced was the difficulty of contacting the sultan, who should have been informed of every detail of what transpired at the conference. The researcher Bazegh Abdessamad wrote:

"No decision could be made—whether affirmative or negative—without his instruction and ordinance. The representatives of the US and European nations could easily contact their capitals to consult their respective governments, while Fes had no telephone or telegraph, nor was it served by any rail or paved road that would allow them to inform the sultan of developments at the conference."

Outcome

The final Act of the conference was signed on 7 April 1906 and covered the organisation of Morocco's police and customs, regulations concerning the repression of the smuggling of armaments and concessions to the European bankers from a new State Bank of Morocco to issue banknotes backed by

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

with a 40-year term. The new state bank was to act as Morocco's central bank, with a strict cap on the spending of the Sherifian Empire and administrators appointed by the national banks, which guaranteed the loans, from the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and

. Spanish coinage continued to circulate. The right of Europeans to own land was established, and taxes were to be levied towards public works. The Sultan of Morocco retained control of a police force in the six port cities, which was to be composed entirely of Moroccan

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

and budgeted at an average salary of a mere 1000 pesetas a year but was to be instructed by French and Spanish officers. They would oversee the paymaster (the ''amin''), regulate discipline and have the ability to be recalled and replaced by their governments. The Inspector-General in charge would be

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

and reside in Tangiers. At the last moment, the Moroccan delegates found that they were unable to sign the final Act, but a decree of

Sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

Abdelaziz of Morocco on 18 June finally ratified it.

Attendees

*Germany – Joseph Maria von Radowitz, Jr. and Christian, Count of Tattenbach *Austro-Hungary – Rudolph, Count of Welsersheimb and Leopold, Count Bolesta-Koziebrodzki *Belgium – Baron Maurice Joostens and Conrad, Count of Buisseret Steenbecque *Spain – Don Juan Pérez-Caballero y Ferrer and Juan Manuel Sánchez, Duke of Almodóvar del Río *United States – Henry White and Samuel R Gummere *France – Paul Révoil and , Abdelqader Benghabrit *United Kingdom – Arthur Nicolson, 1st Baron Carnock *Italy –

Emilio, marquis Visconti-Venosta Emilio, marquis Visconti-Venosta (22 January 182924 November 1914) was an Italian politician, statesman. He is one of the longest-serving Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ministers of Foreign Affairs in the history of Italy. Biography Visc ...

and Giulio Malmusi *Morocco – El Hadj Muhammad Torres and El Hadj Mohammed Ben Abdesselam El Mokri *Netherlands – Jonkheer Hannibal Testa *Portugal – (Count of Tovar) and (Count of Martens Ferrão) *Russian Empire – Arthur, Count Cassini and Basile de Bacheracht *Sweden – Robert Sager

Notes

References

External links

{{Authority control 1906 in Morocco History of European colonialism 1906 in France Diplomatic conferences in Spain 20th-century diplomatic conferences 1906 in Spain 1906 in international relations Algeciras 1906 conferences