Major States 961
lead roles. Their respective possessions constituted the largest share of Africa, and
the ambitions of both were equally as grandiose. Britain had ambitions for a Cape-to-
Cairo railway to link its possessions from Egypt to present-day South Africa. France,
meanwhile, had aspirations of connecting Senegal to Djibouti. Their paths crossed in
present-day and then disputed Sudan.
A mission under Jean-Baptiste Marchand was sent to Fashoda (now known as
Kodok in Sudan) and reached its destination on July 10, 1898. The British, dissatis-
fied with the French move, sent Sir Herbert Kitchener to Fashoda, where he arrived
on September 18, 1898. Kitchener pressed Marchand to leave; Marchand refused.
While the actual dispute occurring in Fashoda was rather mild, the imperialist fever in
Paris and London almost brought both states to war. However, France felt weakened
amidst the fallout of the Dreyfus Affair and ultimately yielded to British pressure.
On November 3, 1898, Paris gave the order to evacuate Fashoda. A March 21, 1899,
accord between the two was later signed. France agreed to relinquish all claims to the
Nile in exchange for almost valueless districts in the Sahara.
Coding changes: Start Date changed from September 18, 1898. End Date changed
from November 4, 1898.
MID#315
Dispute Number: 315
Date(s): July 1, 1911 to November 4, 1911
Participants: 255 Germany/200 United Kingdom, 220 France
Outcome (and Settlement): Compromise (Negotiated)
Fatalities: None
Narrative: This is the Agadir Crisis, also known as the Second Moroccan Crisis. On
July 1, 1911, the German gunboat Panther arrived at Agadir, in Morocco, to protect
German interests. Its arrival in Moroccan waters came as a response to French endeav-
ors in Morocco, a state that France desperately tried to turn into a colony. France used
earlier domestic turmoil in April 1911 as an excuse to advance its position in Morocco
(specifically with a march of troops into Fez, see MID#3139), despite German warn-
ings that France’s actions were in violation of the Algeciras Act.
Soon after the Panther’s arrival in Morocco, France sought intervention from
her new ally, Great Britain. Great Britain refused to help on July 4 as it was
displeased that France had acted so hastily in Morocco in April. German com-
muniques with France assured France that Germany did not want Morocco as
a colony. However, in exchange for Germany abandoning all her interests in
Morocco, Germany would have to be compensated with all of French Congo. This
was unacceptable for the French. The crisis finally brought in the British when, at
the Mansion House speech on July 21, Lloyd George declared national honor to
be more important than peace. Germany rightly interpreted this as an expression
of extreme British displeasure with the possibilities of Germany imposing a harsh
settlement on her French ally.
The matter was eventually closed on November 4, 1911. Germany agreed to the estab-
lishment of a French colony in Morocco in exchange for strips of the French Congo. This