TWO MOROCCAN CRISES

What were Germanys Motives during the two Moroccan Crises?

What were Germanys Motives during the two Moroccan Crises?

Introduction

The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in Europe were marked by considerable tensions and a number of crises, including crises both between states that were highly economically inter-dependent and between those that were minimally so. Three major sources of tension were at the root of these crises, and each was exacerbated by changes in the balance of power. The first source of tension was Germany's occupation of Lorraine and (to a lesser degree) Alsace, both captured from France during the Franco-Prussian War (Fischer, 1974, p.131).

To many in France, relations with the Reich couldn't be normal so long as these territories remained in German hands. A second source of tension involved the competing colonial ambitions of the major powers. Few territories were left to conquer, even as Germany increased its drive for colonial expansion after unification. Finally, after decades of decline, the Ottoman Empire no longer possessed the strength to maintain dominance over its European possessions. This, and the accompanying rise of Balkan nationalism, threatened not only Turkey's interests but also those of the other powers in the region, especially Austria-Hungary and Russia.

Germanys Motives during the two Moroccan Crises

In April 1911, increasing internal unrest in Morocco gave the French the opportunity they wanted to send troops into Fez and to prepare for the establishment of a protectorate over the country. The Germans saw in this action a chance to win some colonial concessions from France, if not in Morocco itself, then in the French Congo; and at the same time the German government recognised that a successful confrontation with France would strengthen their hands in the parliamentary elections of 1912. They sent a gunboat to the Moroccan port of Agadir and ...