Great Britain and France on the Way to the Entente Cordiale

Great Britain and France on the Way to the Entente Cordiale Marcela šubrtová Although the Fashoda Crisis did not open a new era in the relations between the two countries, together with French Foreign Minister Théophile Delcassé’s timely withdrawal and his moderate attitude, it laid down the foundation for the following Anglo ‑French rapprochement.1 This rapprochement was crowned on April 8, 1904 with the successful signature of several conventions which later became known as the so ‑called Entente Cordiale.2 The way towards the agreement was neither straight‑ forward nor easy. The birth of the Anglo ‑Egyptian condominium in Sudan together with the Anglo ‑French convention of March 1899 resolved the problematic question of the Upper Nile, but in spite of that there remained several colonial disputes be‑ tween both powers.3 The Fashoda Crisis proved that Great Britain would rather go to war than give up her position in Egypt.4 It was the humiliation in this crisis which moved Delcassé towards the active involvement in reviewing the priorities of French foreign policy. Towards strengthening the diplomatic links of France, Delcassé drew a political line which led to the reshaping of the Franco ‑Russian alliance perception in 1899. He ini‑ tiated the French policy which aimed to break up the coalition between Italy and the Triple Alliance, and for this purpose he made use of the Italian economic crisis. This policy bore fruit in 1900 and in 1901 when France successfully ruptured the Triple Alliance by signing a pact with Italy.5 1 J. VALKOUN, The British ‑French Struggle for the Upper Nile, in: Prague Papers on the History of International Relations, Prague, Vienna 2009, pp. 233–251. 2 The name Entente Cordiale was used for the very first time in 1840 by François Guizot, a French politician who held the post of foreign minister at the time, as a name for an informal treaty between France and Great Britain. M. MICHEL, Fachoda, Paris 2010, p. 205. 3 J. A. S. GRENVILLE, Lord Salisbury and Foreign Policy: The Close of the Nineteenth Century, London 1970, p. 234; G. N. SANDERSON, England, Europe and Upper Nile 1882–1899: A Study in the Partition of Africa, Edinburgh 1965, p. 374. 4 SANDERSON, p. 374. 5 P. R. VENIER, Théophile Delcassé and the Question of Intervention in the Anglo ‑Boer War, Octo‑ ber 1899 – March 1900, in: P. CHASSAIGNE — M. DOCKRILL (Eds.), Anglo ‑French Relations, 1898–1998: From Fashoda to Jospin, New York 2002, p. 44. 80 PRAGUE PAPERS ON THE HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 1/2014 Paul Cambon arrived in London on December 7, 1898 in order to replace Count de Courcel as ambassador. He remained at this position for 22 years, until 1920.6 His main purpose was to achieve such a settlement between both France and Great Bri‑ tain which would enable the two countries to reconcile their old colonial quarrels.7 During the Fashoda Crisis when both powers were at the brink of the war, Delcassé realized that without an entente with Great Britain, France would not be able to re‑ alize any of her important aims of colonial policy.8 He had instructions to avoid the subject of the Egyptian question as long as possible and instead to try to reach a ge‑ neral agreement first. Only two days after his arrival Cambon visited British Prime Minister Lord Salisbury, who at that time also held the office of British foreign mi‑ nister. During the first two weeks of his stay in London, Cambon’s impressions to the possibility of mutual agreement were rather pessimistic. Despite all his efforts and the signs which “proved the French endeavour to reconcile”, Cambon found only “the silence, the reserve and the attitude of expectancy” on the Fashoda affair and other questions which divided France and Britain, and those were in his opinion “evidence of a kind of scepticism about their solution”.9 The atmosphere in London was so tense that Paul Cambon even expressed his fears: “I hope I won’t be the second Benedetti.”10 Even at the beginning of 1899, a considerable tension in the mutual Franco ‑British relations still prevailed. This situation was reflected by the strong disquiet, which dominated at the Paris Bourse in the first weeks of January 1899.11 Despite the fact that Paul Cambon had for the moment abandoned hope for a general settlement, he told French President Faure that he still hoped to settle the issues with Great Britain individually and in turn.12 At the same time when the negotiations with Paul Cambon began in earnest, a gradual demobilisation began, and by the end of February the scare had passed.13 According to Sanderson, the main reason of continued British naval mobilization was a hint to Paris that France “had better swallow the Condominium Agreement between Britain and Egypt without fuss”.14 This treaty bothered not only Pa‑ ris, which thought that British actions were a threat to French rights and interests in the given area, but also other powers. The French Consul in Egypt, Georges Cogo‑ rdan, noted on the topic of the legal statute of the treaty: “It is a challenge to the whole 6 P. J. V. ROLO, Entente Cordiale: The Origins and Negotiations of the Anglo ‑French Agreements of 8April 1904, London 1969, p. 92; C. ANDREW, Théophile Delcassé and the Making of Entente Cordiale, London 1968, p. 112; Delcassé to Cambon, Paris, December 8, 1898, Documents diplomatiques français (hereafter DDF), Series I, Vol. XIV, Paris 1957, Doc. No. 563, p. 863. 7 According to William Leonard Langer Paul Cambon accepted the post of French Ambassador to London only on condition that efforts are made in the direction of coming to some general agreement and the Anglo -French entente. See W. L. LANGER, The Diplomacy of Im‑ perialism, 1890–1902, New York 1951, p. 566. 8 P. KŘIVSKÝ — A. SKŘIVAN, Století odchází: světa a stíny „belle époque“, 2nd Ed., Praha 2004, p. 312. 9 ANDREW, p. 113. 10 P. CAMBON, Ambassadeur de France (1843–1924) par un diplomate, Paris 1937, p. 173. 11 SANDERSON, p. 365. 12 ANDREW, p. 114. 13 SANDERSON, pp. 365–366. 14 Ibidem, p. 368. MARcELA šUBRTOvá 81 Europe.”15 All the privileges France and other powers had enjoyed in Egypt, such as the Control of public debt, the Capitulations, the existence of Mixed Courts or Con‑ sular Jurisdictions, all of them were swept away at “a single stroke of a British pen”.16 The Marquis of Salisbury not only had not consulted the Agreement with any of the other powers in Europe, but he also had shown that it was to be considered strictly British business, although, he had realised that this claim was not based on facts. It was the British naval mobilization which should have warned the Powers, that “any attempted intervention between Britain and Egypt would incur very serious risks”.17 Even though Paris was against the Condominium Agreement, the government could not speak out against it because of the potential political isolation. French politics were well aware of this situation, which can be demonstrated by quoting Paul Cambon: “What can we do, when we are alone?”18 In March 1899, when the delimitation of the frontier between French Equatorial Africa and the Sudan was agreed, Delcassé was optimistic that a settlement of other Anglo ‑French colonial disputes was just a ma‑ tter of time.19 Paul Cambon later wrote to his son that right after the Anglo ‑French Agreement, Delcassé had instructed him to “broach with Lord Salisbury the subject of a general settlement of affairs”.20 The political situation in Paris was once again rather complicated. When French President Félix Faure died in the middle of February, 1899, the Dreyfus Affair was culminating. Faure’s successor was Émile Loubet, former lawyer and restrained re‑ publican.21 Émile Loubet defeated his opponent for president, Jules Mélin, with 483 votes over 279.22 During Faure’s funeral, which took place on February 23, 1899, the founder of the League of Patriots (Ligue des patriots) Paul Déroulède unsuccessfully tried to initiate a coup d’état. He was arrested and later sentenced to ten years of exile.23 In June 1899, René Waldeck ‑Rousseau became the new prime minister and he appointed Théophile Delcassé the minister of foreign affairs. Delcassé held this post until 1905 when he resigned.24 Even after the Anglo ‑French Agreement from March 1899, there still remained unsettled colonial disputes between the two countries, especially regarding West Africa. In extra ‑European regions, there were at least seven areas of ongoing dis‑ 15 G. N. SANDERSON, The Origins and Significance of the Anglo ‑French Confrontation at Fashoda, 1898, in: P. GIFFORD — W. R. LOUIS (Eds.), France and Britain in Africa: Imperial Rivalry and Colonial Rule, London 1971, p. 325; Cogordan to Delcassé, Cairo, January 20, 1899, in: DDF, Series I, Tome XV, Paris 1959, Doc. No. 29, footnote, p. 45. 16 SANDERSON, England, Europe and Upper Nile, p. 368. 17 Ibidem. 18 Ibidem, p. 369. 19 C. ANDREW, France and the Making of the Entente Cordiale, in: The Historical Journal, Vol. 10, No. 1, 1967, p. 94. 20 ANDREW, Théophile Delcassé, p. 115. 21 D. de. VILLEPIN, L’Entente cordiale de Fachoda à la Grande Guerre dans les archives du Quai d’Orsay: Dans les archives du Quai d’Orsay, Bruxelles, Paris 2004, p. 74. 22 J. CHASTENET, La République triomphante 1893–1906, Paris 1955, p. 161. 23 SANDERSON, England, Europe and Upper Nile, p. 373. 24 ROLO, p. 75. 82 PRAGUE PAPERS ON THE HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 1/2014 putes.25 One of those was Madagascar, where Great Britain and France disagreed over French tariffs. This dispute started after the establishment of the French protectorate there on August 8, 1896. The British considered French tariffs to be a violation of their rights.26 Even in December 1898, Paul Cambon was worried that the dispute might lead to a war.27 Another point of contention between France and Britain was Siam, where a seri‑ ous crisis, later known as the Paknam Crisis, erupted in July 1893. France strived to annex Siam to already existing French Indochina, but Britain supported Siam’s in‑ dependency, in order to create a buffer between British and French dependencies. Despite the presence of British gunboats, a French squadron blockaded the mouth of the Bangkok river for nine days. This blockade endangered British trade in the area. After the blockade, Britain recommended the Siamese to accept French terms. By signing the treaty on August 3, 1893, France received not only considerable satis‑ faction but she also got the territories east of the Mekong River (modern Laos) under her influence. On the west bank of the Mekong River, a buffer zone of a 25 ‑kilometre demilitarized area was created.28 The area of upper Mekong still remained a subject of Anglo ‑French dispute. France wanted to use the Mekong River in order to get to China; this plan was later discovered to be unrealizable because the river was not navigable in that area. On the other side of the world, French territorial claims near the coast of New‑ foundland (Terre Neuve) were cause for another conflict. The beginning of the dispute went back to 1713, when the Treaty of Utrecht granted the island to Great Britain. French settlers from Saint Pierre et Miquelon and especially the ones from a little is‑ land called Île aux Chiens were granted the right to fish for cod in the western area called the French Shore.29 However, the Newfoundland parliament voted a law which prohibited the selling of a special kind of bait, necessary for cod fishing, to French fishermen. The Frenchmen did not give up and they started to use whelks instead. As a consequence, in 1893 the council of Saint Pierre et Miquelon imposed a fee on fishing in the French Shore area. The conflict was becoming increasingly complicated and no side wanted to concede.30 Apparently, even the existing condominium of the New Hebrides in Oceania was not a working solution. French claims in China, especially in the Yangtze basin, rep‑ resented another area of conflict between Great Britain and France.31 Morocco and Egypt were of crucial and strategic importance for the development of Anglo ‑French 25 Cromer to Lansdowne, Cairo, July 17, 1903, in: G. P. GOOCH — H. W. V. TEMPERLEY (Eds.), British Documents on the Origins of the War, 1898–1914: The Anglo ‑Japanese Alliance and the Franco ‑British Entente, Vol. 2, London 1927, (hereafter BD, 2), Doc. No. 359, p. 299. 26 CAMBON, p. 177; KŘIVSKÝ — SKŘIVAN, p. 312. 27 CAMBON, p. 178; ANDREW, Théophile Delcassé, p. 114. 28 N. J. BRAILEY, Anglo ‑French Rivalry over Siam and the Treaties of April 1904, in: P. CHASSAIGNE — M. DOCKRILL (Eds.), Anglo ‑French Relations, 1898–1998: From Fashoda to Jospin, New York 2002, p. 57. 29 Ch. GEOFFROY, Les Coulisses de l’Entente Cordiale, Paris 2004, p. 245. 30 GEOFFROY, p. 246. 31 CAMBON, p. 186. MARcELA šUBRTOvá 83 relations.32 France wanted to add Morocco as “the missing piece to their North African empire”.33 In addition to the French securing the neutrality of Italy by treaty in 1902, they also divided Morocco between France and Spain in a November treaty that same year.34 Britain had mainly trading interests in this country.35 Egypt had been the sub‑ ject of tension between Britain and France since 1882, and from that time France had followed the policy of pinpricks in Egypt and tried to make the British position in that country as unpleasant as possible. Because of the above mentioned facts, the French ambassador repeatedly warned Minister Delcassé about the possible flare up of another Franco ‑British conflict and also that “the baneful influence of [Joseph] Chamberlain and the imperialists was a con‑ stant danger”.36 Even though in the early spring of 1899 Delcassé was still reasona‑ bly optimistic that, but for Egypt, the points at issue between France and England could be amicably settled, Cambon’s debates with Salisbury were at a deadlock by the summer of 1899. In August 1899, Delcassé proclaimed during his meeting with ambassador Monson that “it is impossible to keep the relations with Britain on the friendly footing”.37 In July 1900, French General Staff prepared a plan for Franco ‑Russian co‑ operation in case of war with Britain.38 If Britain had attacked France, the Russian army would have moved its troops to the borders of India and if Britain had attacked Russia, France would have sent 150,000 men to the coast of the English Channel.39 During the Boer War, which broke out in October 1899, the French press adopted the same anti ‑British line as other journals all over Europe.40 French newspapers re‑ ferred to London as to “an eternal enemy”, while on the other side of the Channel, the British press ostentatiously refused to leave the topic of the Dreyfus Affair.41 According to Christopher Andrew “the mutual hostility of both sides of the Channel became with the beginning of the Boer War even greater than during a Fashoda Crisis a year before”.42 France worried that Britain intended to undertake military actions against her as soon as the British had defeated the Boers. That would have allowed Britain to destroy the growing French navy before it could become a threat.43 In December 1899 Delcassé gave an in‑ terview to the Russian newspaper, Rossia, which was largely devoted to Anglo ‑French relations. There, he expressed those concerns. This interview was reprinted later in 32 KŘIVSKÝ — SKŘIVAN, p. 312 33 A. J. P. TAYLOR, The Struggle for Mastery in Europe, 1848–1918, Oxford 1965, p. 405. 34 KŘIVSKÝ — SKŘIVAN, p. 312. 35 TAYLOR, p. 404. 36 GRENVILLE, p. 428. 37 ANDREW, France and the Making of the Entente Cordiale, p. 94 38 ANDREW, Théophile Delcassé, p. 115; P. GUILLEN, The Entente of 1904 as a Colonial Settlement, in: P. GIFFORD — W. R. LOUIS (Eds.), France and Britain in Africa: Imperial Rivalry and Colo‑ nial Rule, London 1971, p. 334. 39 GUILLEN, p. 334. 40 CAMBON, p. 190. 41 J. J. MATHEWS, Egypt and the Formation of the Anglo ‑French Entente of 1904, London 1939, p. 16; GUILLEN, p. 334. 42 ANDREW, France and the Making of the Entente Cordiale, p. 94. 43 Ibidem, pp. 93–94. 84 PRAGUE PAPERS ON THE HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 1/2014 the Parisian press, on December 16, 1899.44 Shortly after the outbreak of war, Russia brought up the idea of forming a continental coalition against Britain. In the autumn of 1899 Russian political representatives undertook a journey spanning several Eu‑ ropean cities. For some historians, the initiative was encouraged by Delcassé, who saw an opportunity to reopen the Egyptian problem; however this argument seems to be inaccurate.45 If the Egyptian problem had been brought up again, Delcassé would probably have been pleased, but he was well aware that the French Third Republic had not yet recovered from the diplomatic defeat in Fashoda and that she was not prepared to actively oppose Britain.46 On the contrary, according to Venier, Delcassé had a moderating influence for the Russian allies.47 Muraviev’s visit to Paris in October allowed the two statesmen to discuss the possibility of diplomatic intervention by the Powers, which Germany should have also been interested in, but in December, during his following stay in Berlin, Muraviev did not suggest any proposal. His stay in Berlin ended prematurely, when the Anglo ‑German agreement on Samoa was announced even before the signature of the document. This action was taken as an insult and it did not help Russo ‑German relations at all.48 Concerning Franco ‑German negoti‑ ations, even though after the outbreak of Boer War German Foreign Minister Bern‑ hard Bülow implied that Germany is for cooperation with France, mainly because of their “very similar views on extra ‑European issues”, no progress had been made. Berlin strictly refused the Russian attempts to create the continental interventionist alliance against Britain and rejected cooperation with Paris by insisting on formal recognition of Alsace Lorraine as a part of German territory.49 During his stay in Berlin, Muraviev proclaimed that the current main goal of France is her own consolidation, and on the subject of possible Franco ‑German cooperation, he stated that “Delcassé is a maniac, for whom everything is subordinated to the idea of Revanche. He only sees Strasbourg without thinking of the superior interests of Europe”.50 William L. Langer characterized the Ger‑ man attitude in the following way: “Germany could afford the weakening of her allies and could pursue a free ‑hand policy, a policy of having two irons in the fire. She could team with France and Russia, or with England, whichever seemed profitable. Actually, the Germans flirted with the Russians and French, but tried to collaborate with the English.”51 Paul Déroulède, Charles Maurras, Paul Cassagnac, Henri Rochefort or some repre‑ sentatives of the French army were for the establishing of an alliance between Paris and Berlin and were opposed to all forces of conciliation between England and France. Those led by Maurras were convinced that the whole Dreyfus Affair was initiated and paid for by England with for the purpose of weakening France.52 On top of that Cassagnac 44 ANDREW, Théophile Delcassé, pp. 117–118. 45 See VENIER, p. 46; ANDREW, Théophile Delcassé, pp. 158–162. 46 VENIER, p. 46. 47 Ibidem, p. 51. 48 Ibidem, p. 48. 49 L. W. TRUSCHEL, The International Impact of the Boer War, in: History, Vol. 30, No. 2, 2002, p. 78. 50 VENIER, p. 48. 51 LANGER, p. 793. 52 Ibidem, p. 566. MARcELA šUBRTOvá 85 proclaimed that “England is enemy of yesterday, tomorrow and for [sic] ever”.53 The main supporter of the alliance between Germany and France was Maurice Rouvier, who be‑ came the French prime minister later.54 Even the conservative French press supported an alliance between France and Germany. Journalist Paul Fauchille argued that “the Continent should unite economically and politically to put a check on England”.55 The French foreign minister was well aware that even though a partial cooperation between France and Germany was possible, full cooperation was not.56 Paris never wanted to accept the loss of Alsace ‑Lorraine, which created an abyss between the two countries, and for this reason the possibility of Franco ‑German cooperation was destined to fail.57 However, according to Pierre Guillen, Delcassé hesitated on which side to choose until 1902.58 On the other hand, the idea of an Anglo ‑French alliance had its followers as well. One of them was Jean Marie de Lanessan, founder of the Entente Cordiale Society59 in 1897, former Governor of French Indo ‑China and French Minister of Navy in Waldeck ‑Rousseau’s government.60 Other supporters of Franco ‑British cooperation, and probably the most passionate ones, were Count Jean ‑Baptiste Comte de Chau‑ dordy and French Deputy Denys Cochin. Former French chargé d’affaires in London and famous Anglophile, Paul D’Estournelles de Constant, and former Prime Minister Alexander Ribot publically sided with supporters of the Entente as well, during the 1899 debate in French Parliament.61 By the end of 1898, however, there were several representatives in the British Par‑ liament who were rather inclined to the idea of cooperation with Berlin. Most nota‑ bly, Joseph Chamberlain had supported this idea since the beginning of 1898. George Goschen, Lord George Hamilton, Francis Percy Drummond Chaplin and William Palmer, the Count of Selborne and British Ambassador in Berlin Franc Lascelles were also some of Chamberlain’s supporters.62 Prime Minister Salisbury, unable to directly oppose Chamberlain’s view, suggested Queen Victoria invite her grandson German Emperor William II to England. Lord Salisbury was convinced that Anglo ‑German re‑ lations cannot get further than to the state of “mutual apathetic tolerance”, and he later stated: “The attitude of France makes it desirable for the world to believe in understanding 53 Ibidem. 54 A. GÉRAUD, Rise and Fall of the Anglo ‑French Entente, in: Foreign Affairs, Vol. 32, No. 3, 1954, p. 374. 55 LANGER, p. 567. 56 ROLO, p. 82. 57 F. CROUZET, L’Entente cordiale: Réalités et mythes d’un siècle de relations franco ‑britanniques, in: Études Anglaises, Vol. 57, No. 3, 2007, p. 311. 58 GUILLEN, p. 334. 59 Similar company was established in London in 1895 under the leadership of Major Roper Parkington under the name of Entente Cordiale Association. Its goal was to establish better relations between France and Britain by organizing public meetings and conferences and also by publishing favourable literature. Approximately dozen members of the House of Commons had joined the company later on. This movement soon diminished in both countries for lack of support. For more details see MATHEWS, p. 47. 60 MICHEL, p. 205. 61 LANGER, p. 566; SANDERSON, England, Europe and Upper Nile, p. 376. 62 GRENVILLE, p. 173. 86 PRAGUE PAPERS ON THE HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 1/2014 between Germany and Britain.”63 Subsequently, Joseph Chamberlain stated during his speech on December 8, 1898 that Britain is interested in cooperation with Germany in order to secure the common interests of both countries. The German press received this speech in a positive manner.64 In November 1899, German Emperor William II visited Britain65 and even though the German press presented the visit as a strictly personal matter, it was perceived as sign of improving Anglo ‑German relations by Britain and as a troublesome matter by France.66 The fact that the European press had been gener‑ ally against Britain in connection with the Boer War made the visit by the German Em‑ peror to London even more significant.67 During his stay in Britain, the German mon‑ arch met Lord Balfour, substituting Foreign Minister Salisbury, who was absent due to his wife’s death. William II also met Joseph Chamberlain in person for the first time. This meeting confirmed Chamberlain’s conviction that the cooperation between Brit‑ ain and Germany was possible.68 Chamberlain brought up the possibility of a special deal securing Anglo ‑German cooperation in the area of Asia Minor and Morocco as well.69 On November 30, only a day after the Emperor’s departure from Britain Cham‑ berlain publicly complained about the French press and also stated that British and German had corresponding interests in South Africa.. The minister of colonial affairs enthusiastically spoke about a promising future of Anglo ‑German relations, which he described as an alliance. It is not surprising that the complaint of Ambassador Paul Cambon to Permanent Under ‑Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Thomas Sander‑ son came immediately.70 Even though Sanderson had distanced himself from Cham‑ berlain’s statement on behalf of the Foreign Office, France felt indignant anyway.71 One of the means Paris used to gratify its own anti ‑Britain feelings was to support the Egyptian National Movement. This movement had been promoted in the last dec‑ ade of the 19th century and it was represented by two main branches, Islamic reform‑ ists and Syrian immigrants. The press was an important player in the Egyptian Na‑ tional Movement too.72 The leader of the Egyptian opposition, Mustafa Kamil Pasha,73 63 ANDREW, Théophile Delcassé, p. 116; GRENVILLE, p. 173; LANGER, p. 568. 64 More detailed look on Chamberlain’s efforts to Anglo -German rapprochement in GRENVILLE, pp. 162–176. 65 Emperor William II spent in Britain 8 days, from November 20, 1899 to November 28, 1899. After a five -day visit of Queen Victoria, he spent the three remaining days in Sandrigham. Boutiron to Delcassé, Berlin, August 19, 1899, in: DDF, Series I, Tome XV, Paris 1959, Doc. No. 257, footnote, p. 442. 66 Cambon to Delcassé, London, November 21, 1899, in: DDF, Series I, Tome XVI, Paris 1959, Doc. No. 5, p. 10; ROLO, p. 104. 67 ROLO, p. 104. 68 Cambon to Delcassé, London, December 1, 1899, in: DDF, Series I, Tome XVI, Paris 1959, Doc. No. 17, p. 30. 69 ROLO, p. 104. 70 See Cambon to Delcassé, London, December 1, 1899, in: DDF, Series I, Tome XVI, Paris 1959, Doc. No. 16, pp. 26–27; ROLO, p. 104. 71 ROLO, p. 104. 72 E. GOMBÁR, Moderní dějiny islámských zemí, Praha 1999, pp. 333–334. 73 Mustafa Kamil Pasha (1874–1908) born in Cairo to a family of army engineer. After his law studies he undertook several journeys to Europe since 1864. During his studies in France MARcELA šUBRTOvá 87 a representative of the radical Egyptian Islamic National Intelligence, immediately received unofficial financial support from the French government. France was hop‑ ing that the promoting of the Egyptian National Movement would result in Britain leaving the country. French newspapers celebrated Kamil Pasha as a hero.74 However, the French general ambassador in Egypt, Georges Cogordan, was concerned about the situation in Egypt and for that reason he warned Minister Delcassé about the increasing power of Egyptian nationalism and also about the dangers of the French using the National Movement for their own goals.75 According to the French general ambassador in Egypt, Mustafa Kamil Pasha represented the branch of Islamic nation‑ alism which opposed any European influence in Egypt, and because Mustafa Kamil opposed European business in Egypt in general, France was forced to stop supporting the movement in order to preserve its own position on the Tunisian market.76 Meanwhile, the French minister of foreign affairs was aiming at the decreasing of mutual Franco ‑British tensions. His endeavour was partially thwarted at the be‑ ginning of 1900, when the Léandre Affair brought relations to a boiling point. The French caricaturist, Charles Lucien Léandre offended Queen Victoria by displaying British Secretary of State for the Colonies Chamberlain hiding behind her skirts. The fact that Léandre was decorated with the Legion of Honour by the Minister of Fine Arts was interpreted by the Queen as a personal insult. She even privately urged that British Ambassador Monson should be recalled from Paris. Monson did leave the French metropolis, but he moved less ostentatiously to Cannes. The Queen decided to abandon her usual spring holidays in France and visit Italy instead.77 At the turn of century the French colonial movement undertook important changes. As a consequence, a group representing French trading and industrial interests dominated the movement, which was led by the French Colonial Union (Union Coloniale Française). Because of its influence, the Egyptian question together with the feeling of grievance became a secondary issue. The leaders of French Colo‑ nial Union advocated the view that the French Empire had already reached a suffi‑ cient extent and that attention should be focused on the exploitation of all captured territories.78 It was the Union led by Etienne who advocated the idea that Morocco was an indispensable rounding ‑off of the French North African Empire.79 Therefore, Etienne insisted that “the future of the French nation depended on the acquisition of Mo‑ he started to believe in the possibility of French help against the ongoing British occupation of Egypt. In 1895, he was allowed to make a speech in the French Parliament. He also published his articles in the Viennese journals. In 1898 his trust to France significantly decreased, therefore he began to support the panislamism of Sultan Abdülhamid II and the idea of Arabian unity. In 1900, he established Al ‑Liwá journal, and he publically opposed European colonialism in this journal. Ibidem, p. 335. 74 J. L. RAGATZ, The Question of Egypt in Anglo ‑French Relations, 1875–1904, Edinburgh 1922, p. 138; GOMBÁR, pp. 334–335. 75 ROLO, p. 105. 76 RAGATZ, p. 138. 77 ROLO, pp. 105–106. 78 SANDERSON, England, Europe and Upper Nile, p. 375. 79 Ibidem, p. 376. 94 PRAGUE PAPERS ON THE HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 1/2014 existing system of Capitulations and the Commission of the Public Debt too, because such a step depended upon the consent of all the powers of Europe at the time.138 By reaching the complete freedom of action, British would be enabled to control Egyp‑ tian finances without dependence upon other powers.139 Cromer wanted to define the competences of British Consul ‑General in Egypt, who should be entitled to attend all the meetings of the Council of Ministers and no Khedieval Decree should be issued without his previous consent.140 Conversely, Minister Théophile Delcassé did not consult with his French colleagues on any of the points of issue from the above mentioned meeting with Lord Lansdowne. The change of his attitude came by 1904. While Lansdowne’s decision to continue in Anglo ‑French negotiations was influenced by the opinions of the British cabinet, Delcassé’s attitude was, according to Christopher Andrew, a result of his personal con‑ viction supported by Ambassador Cambon. Eugene Etienne had considerable influence upon Delcassé too, although he was not even a member of the French government.141 On October 1, 1903 a detailed discussion about the general scheme of an Anglo‑ ‑French entente was thus initiated between the two ministers. The basis of the pro‑ posed entente was an exchange of interests in Morocco and Egypt.142 Lord Lansdowne presented a summary of points at issue by his letter from the same day. In this letter he presented an unofficial attitude of the British government upon eight points at issue, which included a detailed commentary on the questions of Morocco, Egypt, Newfoundland, Siam, New Hebrides, Madagascar and the questions of Nigeria and Zanzibar too.143 Ambassador Cambon, who stayed in Paris at the time, studied the British proposals in detail together with Minister Delcassé. The next meeting, which took place on October 7, showed that the French were unwilling to abandon their rights and privileges at Newfoundland and the British would not do so at Morocco.144 By that time, both Lord Lansdowne and the Earl of Cromer were persuaded that Great Britain was getting more in Egypt than she was losing in Morocco.145 On October 30, 1903, after nearly a month of further negotiations Cromer stated to Lansdowne: “…the French answer is quite as favourable as we could reasonably expect […] the Newfoundland question seems to me the most serious task ahead […] We ought to be able to come to terms about Morocco and Egypt.”146 When Lansdowne and Cambon met on December 9, 1903 in order to discuss in detail the Egyptian question, the ne‑ 138 Ibidem, p. 308. 139 The National Archives, London, Kew (hereafter TNA), Foreign Office (hereafter FO), 800/124, Lansdowne Papers 1903–1905, Cromer to Lansdowne, Cairo, November 1, 1903, f. 111. 140 Memorandum by the Earl of Cromer, August 7, 1903, in: BD, 2, Doc. No. 365, p. 309. 141 ANDREW, Théophile Delcassé, p. 212; ROLO, p. 208. 142 ANDREW, Théophile Delcassé, p. 212. 143 ROLO, p. 205; Lansdowne to Cambon, Foreign Office, October 1, 1903, in: BD, 2, Doc. No. 369, pp. 311–317. 144 Lansdowne to Cambon, Foreign Office, October 1, 1903, in: BD, 2, Doc. No. 370, p. 317. 145 OTTE, p. 287; MATHEWS, p. 84. 146 TNA, FO 800/124, Lansdowne Papers 1903–1905, Cromer to Lansdowne, Cairo, October 30, 1903, f. 108. MARcELA šUBRTOvá 95 gotiations started to take concrete form. The most constant advocate of hastening the negotiations was Lord Cromer and he truly had a lion’s share on the formation of the Entente.147 Cromer was “consulted at practically every turn, not only on the matters which related to Egypt […] but also on many phases of the agreement which did not affect Egypt”.148 Lord Lansdowne admitted that “so far as Egypt is concerned we have closely followed your [Cromer’s] suggestions”.149 Cromer as well watched for opportunities for a conciliation of the French sen‑ timent and in doing so he insisted upon the change of the name of Fashoda, which was an unhappy reminder of the French humiliation of 1898, to Kodok at the end of 1903.150 Lansdowne appreciated this on December 7, 1903 when he wrote: “I am happy that you have rechristened Fashoda […] our French friends will certainly be pleased”.151 Lord Cromer was persuaded that “it is of immense importance to settle the whole bu‑ siness quick[ly]”152 and he therefore insisted repeatedly to Lansdowne to hasten the negotiations. Despite Cromer’s urging, the discussions ended in deadlock during Ja‑ nuary and February of 1904.153 On January 5, 1904 Cambon received an uncompromi‑ sing memorandum from Lord Lansdowne, who did not want to yield on the question of Newfoundland. He pointed out that the French were asking for “a concession which could not be defended in Parliament as an equivalent for the abandonment of French rights in Newfoundland”.154 Cambon then warned Lansdowne, that “it is important to reach agreement on this point before continuing our conversations on other questions” and he emphasized that “it is useless to reach agreement on Egypt […] if the failure of our talks on Newfoundland prevents us from making any settlement”.155 At the end of February, Lansdowne informed the Spanish government that the negotiations about Morocco had already started.156 Despite this step Lansdowne fi‑ nally yielded to French pressure and agreed that France would negotiate with Spain separately.157 Madrid would be informed of the final statement once this was already 147 MATHEWS, p. 84. 148 Ibidem. 149 TNA, FO 800/124, Lansdowne Papers 1903–1905, Lansdowne to Cromer, Foreign Office, November 17, 1903, ff. 137–138. 150 MATHEWS, pp. 87–88. 151 Ibidem, p. 88. 152 TNA, FO 800/124, Lansdowne Papers 1903–1905, Cromer to Lansdowne, Cairo, November 13, 1903, f. 124. 153 ROLO, p. 244. 154 See Memorandum communicated to Cambon, January 5, 1904, in: BD, 2, Doc. No. 383, p. 336; ROLO, p. 231. 155 ROLO, p. 233. 156 MATHEWS, p. 92; ROLO, p. 247. 157 During November of 1903, Lansdowne informed Cromer about the note by Paul Cambon, which commented an existing draft of entente between France and Spain. According to Lansdowne Cambon’s note contained such a declaration, by which Spain and France prohibited any cessation of the Moroccan territory to any third Power. Lord Lansdowne warned that this would not prevent Spain from ceding them to France. See TNA, FO 800/124, Lansdowne Papers 1903–1905, Lansdowne to Cromer, Foreign Office, November 13, 1903, ff. 128–129. 96 PRAGUE PAPERS ON THE HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 1/2014 settled between France and Great Britain.158 On March 4, 1904, the question of terri‑ torial compensation in the area of Nigeria and Lake Chad were raised and after nine days both powers reached a compromise. The long discussions about the territorial changes were therefore completed.159 On March 13, France and England then agreed, that the question of Newfoundland should be arranged by a special convention.160 In the meantime British Consul ‑General, Lord Cromer, was afraid that French and other powers would not accept his planned reform of the fiscal system in Egypt. He cabled Lord Lansdowne that “the most important point of all seems to me to make it quite clear that French Government agree to give us a completely free hand…” and then he added “we are almost sure to have much difficulty with Germany”.161 Lord Lansdowne presented the first English draft of the final agreement to Paul Cambon during their meetings on March 14 and 16, 1903.162 Delcassé’s only major objection was an included article promising French diplomatic support for future English policy in Egypt, but this ob‑ jection was finally swept away by inserting an equivalent article about the English support for future French policy in Morocco.163 The following days witnessed an active correspondence passing between Lord Lansdowne and Paul Cambon. On March 20, 1904 Foreign Minister Delcassé and Agent Eldon Gorst of Great Britain sent Paul Cambon a draft of the treaty, which was presented to Lord Lansdowne the day after. The Newfoundland question should be settled by a special convention which was to be passed to both French and British Parliaments for ratification later on.164 The disputed questions of Siam, New Hebri‑ des and Madagascar were to be settled by a declaration. The Egyptian and Moroccan question were to be dealt with by an exchange of declarations too, but even Delcassé admitted that a secret article might be added to them.165 Both powers finally achieved the unanimity on April 6, 1904 and the agreement was signed two days later at Chateau Clouds by Lord Lansdowne and Paul Cambon. The agreement contained the Convention between the United Kingdom and France respecting Newfoundland and West and Central Africa, the Declaration between the United Kingdom and France respecting Egypt and Morocco with five Secret Ar‑ ticles and the Declaration between the United Kingdom and France concerning Siam, Madagascar and the New Hebrides.166 All the pending colonial disputes in extra‑ ‑European territories were to be settled between France and England through what later became known as the Entente Cordiale. 158 ROLO, p. 237. 159 Lansdowne to Monson, Foreign Office, March 13, 1904, in: BD, 2, Doc. No. 399, p. 354; ROLO, p. 253. 160 VILLEPIN, p. 90. 161 Cromer to Lansdowne, Cairo, March 14, 1904, in: BD, 2, Doc. No. 400, pp. 354–355. 162 VILLEPIN, p. 91. 163 ANDREW, Théophile Delcassé, p. 213; ROLO, p. 258. 164 Delcassé to Cambon, Paris, March 20, 1904, in : DDF, Série II, Tome IV, Paris 1932, Doc. No. 354, p. 465. 165 ROLO, p. 255. 166 Accords conclus le 8 avril 1904 entre la France et lʼAngleterre. Déclaration concernant lʼÉgypte et le Maroc, in: DDF, Série II, Tome IV, Paris 1932, Doc. No. 389, p. 533. MARcELA šUBRTOvá 97 By Entente Cordiale the friction between France and England in extra ‑European territories was removed. The colonial rivalry was ended and the mutual relations between both great powers were finally smoothed out. France abandoned the policy of pinpricks in Egypt in exchange for the policy of a free hand in Morocco. French dominance in the Maghreb area was therefore achieved.167 Great Britain avoided the birth of a great continental coalition which would be directed against London. French Foreign Minister Théophile Delcassé understood that no important goal can be carried through without an alliance with England on the field of French colonial expansion. He hoped that the Entente Cordiale could become a springboard towards a real military alliance between France and Great Britain which would protect them against a German threat.168 Even though the Entente Cordiale was not a real military alliance, which would be directed against any power, it became an important miles‑ tone towards the birth of the Triple Alliance and Triple Entente, two blocks which would clash in the First World War.169 ABSTRACT The Entente Cordiale, which ended tension between France and England in extra ‑European terri‑ tories, became a milestone towards the birth of the Triple Alliance and Triple Entente, two blocks which later clashed in the First World War. Based on the study of published and non ‑published do‑ cuments, this contribution tries to analyze the motives that permitted the Anglo ‑French rappro‑ chement from 1898–1904. Attention is paid especially to the Egyptian and Moroccan points of con‑ tention between France and Great Britain, which were of crucial and strategic importance for the development of Anglo ‑French relations. When France abandoned the policy of pinprick agitation in Egypt in exchange for the policy of a free hand in Morocco, a new era in the Anglo ‑French rela‑ tions was opened. KEYWORDS Entente Cordiale; Anglo ‑French Relations 1898–1904; Egypt; Morocco Marcela Šubrtová | Institute of World History, Faculty of Arts, Charles University, Prague Nám. J. Palacha 2, 116 38 Prague, Czech Republic [email protected] 167 CROUZET, p. 311. 168 ROLO, p. 273. 169 KŘIVSKÝ — SKŘIVAN, p. 314; ROLO, p. 276.