The Second Moroccan Crisis (which is also known as the ‘Agadir Crisis’) was an important conflict that took place from April to November in 1911 and led to increased tensions between the European powers. In fact, the major European nations (which included France, Germany and Britain) disagreed over the status of the African nation of Morocco and who should have influence over the region. France had considered the African nation of Morocco to be in its imperial ‘sphere of influence’, but Germany protested. In fact, the tensions over Morocco erupted just a few years earlier with the events of the First Moroccan Crisis, which occurred from 1905 to 1906. Historians consider the First Moroccan Crisis and Second Moroccan Crisis to be significant causes of World War I, because they increased the tensions between the European powers before the outbreak of the First World War in 1914.
WHAT CAUSED THE SECOND MOROCCAN CRISIS?
To recognize the importance of the Second Moroccan Crisis, its first important to understand the history and significance of European imperialism in the 19th century and early 20th century. Imperialism is understood as a process in which a country overtakes another country or region’s political, economic or social life. Imperialism was carried out by the powerful European nations against the rest of world in the decades before World War I began. For example, in the 19th century European nations carried out massive campaigns of imperialism against the regions of Africa in an event known as the Scramble for Africa. The Scramble of Africa led to the start of World War I because it increased the rivalry between the European nations as they fought against each other for territory in Africa and control over different regions. The Second Moroccan Crisis (along with the earlier First Moroccan Crisis) was one of these significant times in which tensions from European imperialism created conflict between the main powers in Europe.
