In 1904, Britain and France had signed a treaty known as the 'Entente Cordiale'. Although this became the basis for their alliance during the First World War, the original purpose of this agreement was to prevent clashes between the powers in North Africa. According to its terms, Britain could pursue its involvement in Egypt, and would leave France free to expand its empire westwards from Algeria into Morocco. However, this angered the German Kaiser, and in March 1905, Wilhelm travelled to Tangiers, and made a speech proclaiming his support of the Sultan's independence. This was intended to drive a wedge between France and Britain, but had the opposite effect of strengthening their alliance against him, and may have helped to …
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Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Britain proposes full discussions on Morocco". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 August 2013 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=11779, accessed 23 November 2024.]