March · This Day in Africa
March 31
1905 — The Kaiser's Tangier Visit
On March 31, 1905, Kaiser Wilhelm II rode through Tangier on a white horse and declared his support for Morocco's sovereignty, a direct challenge to France's growing grip on the kingdom. The gesture was theatre with a purpose: Germany announcing, before all Europe, that Morocco's future was not France's alone to decide.
The Sultan rejected France's reforms and invited the great powers to settle Morocco's future at a conference. The resulting First Moroccan Crisis ended at Algeciras with French control confirmed, sharpening the rivalries that fed the First World War. A ride through Tangier echoed far beyond Morocco, into Europe's gathering storm.
One of 366 days. Every entry is researched and checked against the historical record before it is filmed or printed; where the record is uncertain, the entry says so. About the method.