Lesson video

Hello, and welcome back to Key Stage 3 History.

I'm Ms. Dawson.

Today we're at our fourth and final lesson of our four lesson enquiry asking did tensions over Africa make a European war more likely? If you've done lessons one to three already, well done, you're in the right place.

If you haven't, go back and do those first before attempting this one.

Today we're going to be looking at a country called Morocco, and we're going to be inquiring as to how conflict over Morocco could have contributed to the First World War.

What I'm going to do now is get my head out of the way so that you can copy down today's title.

Pause your video in order to do this, and when you're ready, resume the video so we can get started.

Let's go.

To complete today's lesson you are going to need a piece of paper, a pen, a ruler, and a pencil.

As this is the final lesson of our enquiry, I think you could also benefit from having your notes from previous lessons so that we can try and tie together the question we've been looking at.

Well done if you've already got all of this equipment.

If you haven't, please feel free to pause the video and go and grab what you need.

Also remember to set yourself up somewhere nice and calm and quiet so that you can work without any distractions.

Brilliant, now that we're ready to work, I'd like us to start by taking a look at this political cartoon.

Now, whenever we look at political cartoons, the first thing that we need to look for are symbols that can help us work out what's going on, because it's quite tough to do.

So go ahead and put your video on pause in a moment when I direct you and try and zoom in on clues.

What indications do you get about what this is trying to say? And don't panic if you're not totally sure, because I'm going to explain it to you more in a moment.

Pause your video.

And when you're ready for some clues from me, resume it.

Off you go.

So one of the first things I always look for in political cartoons is the text because the text can give you a really good indicator of who or what the figures in the cartoon are supposed to represent.

So the first thing I've circled here is a name, Kaiser Wilhelm, and then a country, Germany.

So this tells us that the figure in the front of the picture who is wearing this military helmet is the German leader, Kaiser Wilhelm.

So that's our first clue into what this cartoon is talking about.

What else did you spot? You may have noted that there is a figure in the background that is representing France or standing on France.

We might also notice that the Kaiser is stepping from Germany to Morocco.

I wonder if you can remember from previous lessons, why France might worry about Germany heading towards Morocco.

Well done, if you can.

I'll explain it to you very shortly if you're not sure.

We can then also see it's not just France in the background who was protesting what Germany is doing.

So is England.

England is saying, keep off the grass.

How dare you.

So we'd might not know all of the events, but we can gather from looking at this picture that this cartoon is making a comment about Britain and France not being very happy when Germany has something to do with Morocco.

That's what we've worked out so far.

Well done if you remembered that Britain and France were part of an alliance, and that they were worried about the power of Germany.

And very well done if you remembered that France had a lot of influence in Morocco.

So potentially this gives us a clue as to why Britain and France are not happy about the idea of Germany having any impact in Morocco.

So hopefully looking at that cartoon managed to give you an idea about what our lesson might be about today, and also helps you recap some of the previous knowledge that we've looked at about alliances.

So what we're going to do now, we're going to use what we've just talked about and what you've learned over the last few lessons to complete this recap gap fill.

So on screen, there is a short paragraph which I've written, which describes some of the things that we've learned already.

At the bottom of the screen in bold are the words that you need to fill in to the gap fill.

They're not all in the correct order.

There are some things you can do in order to try and make this activity easier if you're not sure.

One of the first things that I would recommend doing is using pencil so that if you're not sure, or if you get one incorrect, it's really easy to rub it out and start again.

You can either copy out the paragraph in full with the correct words inserted, or you can number them and write them out in the correct order.

Whichever is the most useful to you.

If you don't have a pencil or you'd prefer not to write in pencil, if you're not sure about an answer, what you could do is skip it and go through the ones you definitely know.

Then it will narrow it down when you come back to it.

Sometimes it helps as well to try and read the sentence with the word in it and see if it fits.

For example, this first word, tension, is very unlikely to fit in our first sentence.

If we said in 1904 tension and someone signed an agreement, that doesn't make any sense, so I can discount that one straight away.

Now you've had a few hints from me as to how to do it.

I'm going to ask you to put your video on pause for a few moments to complete the gap fill.

After you're happy with your answers, resume the video and we'll go over them.

Off you go.

Well done, welcome back.

Let's take a look at the answers and see how you did.

Read along with me and give yourself a tick for all the ones that you've gotten correct.

In 1904, Britain and France signed an agreement known as the Entente Cordiale.

This was a series of agreements which had ended a period of tension between the two countries and brought them together in an alliance.

One of the reasons that they did this was because they had almost come to war in North Africa, competing over land in the Sudan.

This had been the result of a buildup of tension over their competing interests in Egypt.

They had ultimately decided that war was not worth it and reached a compromise, which saw Britain recognise France's influence in Morocco.

Another reason that they signed the agreement was because they were both worried about the rising power of Germany.

Very well done if you got these answers correct.

This was quite tough because there's quite a lot of different countries in here which could have fitted in multiple places.

So make sure that you tick the ones that you got correct and correct the any that you didn't get.

In the first sentence, if you put France and Britain the other way round, that's correct.

So don't panic about that.

If you didn't get any of the answers right, then you need to pause your video and correct them.

Resume the video when you're ready to move on.

So we're nearly ready to answer our enquiry question.

At the end of today's lesson, we're going to be thinking about did tensions over Africa make European war more likely? We've already looked at reasons why European countries wanted empires.

We've looked at the rules they put in place at the Berlin conference, and we've looked at how conflict over Egypt brought Britain and France apart, and then together again.

So today we're going to look at the example of Morocco.

A reminder of our dates.

We are looking broadly at the Scramble for Africa, which took place between 1876 and 1914.

And the First World War broke out in 1914, just at the end of it.

So for us to understand a little bit more about Morocco, first of all, we need to know some details about it.

Morocco is a large territory in the North-West of Africa.

It was near the French territory of Algeria.

And if you remember this map we're looking at from 1880, is before the majority of the Scramble for Africa, but the French had been in control of Algeria since before the scramble happened.

So it was near a territory which the French had had for a really long time.

It was an ideal French trading possession in terms of where it sat on the coast.

And the fact that it was right next to one of their existing colonies.

And Britain had accepted France's claim to Morocco.

If you remember, this was one of the conditions of Britain and France making peace over the Fashoda Incident, which we looked at last lesson.

So Britain was very happy for France to have an interest in Morocco.

This had been accepted and agreed between the two of them.

Here's Morocco on the map.

Now we'll return to this picture we looked at at the beginning of the lesson of Britain and France shouting at the German leader, the Kaiser.

So Kaiser Wilhelm II was the leader of Germany, and this word, kaiser, we could compare this to a word like emperor.

A kaiser is a single strong ruler.

And if you look in the picture, he's dressed in a military uniform.

That's because the Kaiser ruled with military strength with the power of the army.

He had been the leader of Germany since 1888.

He had, Germany had entered the Scramble for Africa a bit later than some of the other nations.

And as a result of that, had acquired fewer colonies.

They had land in German East Africa, which was quite valuable to them.

They had German Southwest Africa.

They didn't have as much as Britain or France, and they also didn't have as much that was considered as valuable as some of the colonies that Britain and France had.

He disliked the fact that Britain and French, Britain and France made an alliance in 1904, particularly seeing as part of this alliance was to counter German strength.

So he wasn't very happy about that.

And he felt that Britain and France had made active attempts to block his influence.

So the Kaiser felt that Britain and France were ganging up on him and he wasn't happy about it.

This political cartoon is representing the events we're going to look at today of the Moroccan Crises.

If you note the spelling of this word crises, this is because it is a plural.

So it was not one crisis in Morocco, but there were two.

And we're going to look at both of them today.

Kaiser Wilhelm attempted to intervene in French influence in Morocco.

So we can see in this cartoon, this image of Germany stepping from France to Morocco is intended to show that the Kaiser made an attempt to intervene in what was happening in Morocco.

He did this first in the year 1905, that was the First Moroccan Crisis.

And then again in 1911, which was the Second Moroccan Crisis.

So two times the Kaiser attempted to block French influence in Morocco.

That's how important it was to him.

Both times Britain and France allied against him.

And we can see this again in the cartoon.

So Britain and France, clearly both on the same side, shouting and trying to stop Germany from what they are doing.

So this cartoon indicates both the alliance system and the fact that the worry is about German interference in Morocco.

This interference in Morocco caused long-term tension, and it can be linked to the causes of the First World War, which is why it's part of our enquiry.

Now that we've had some input from me, it's time for us to get on with our recent activity.

So you're going to do your comprehension questions.

I'll read them to you and then direct you to the worksheet.

Question one.

Where is Morocco? Question two.

What had France and Spain discussed? Question three.

Why was Kaiser Wilhelm II unhappy about European actions in Morocco? Question four.

What did he decide to do? Question five.

What happened at the Algeciras conference? Question six.

What happened in 1911? Question seven.

How was this resolved? And our challenge question.

What was the long term impact of tension over Morocco? And you can use my sentence starters to help you answer this question if you would like.

A reminder that the answers to these questions are all contained within the worksheet.

So do read it carefully before starting, and make sure you challenge yourself by trying to write in full sentences, using historical details to support your answer.

Okay, you can go ahead and pause the video now.

Go to the worksheet and answer the questions in as much detail as possible.

When you're happy with your answers, resume the video and we'll go over them.

Off you go.

Welcome back, well done.

Let's check your answers.

Question one.

Where is Morocco? The acceptable answer is: North-west Africa.

A good answer in full sentences is: Morocco is located on the North-West of Africa.

Well done, big tick if you got that right.

If you didn't, please feel free to pause the video and correct your answer.

Let's check question two.

Question two.

What had France and Spain discussed? The acceptable answer is: Sharing influence in Morocco.

A good answer is: France and Spain discussed dividing Morocco into spheres of influence.

This meant that both of them would have some power and influence over different areas of Morocco, but neither of them would formerly control it.

Well done if you used full sentences and specific vocabulary such as spheres of influence here.

If you would like to add some detail to your answer, feel free to pause the video.

Always remember that your answers and mine might look different, but that does not mean that yours is wrong.

Okay, so check for the correct detail and give yourself a tick if you've got anything that looks like this.

Question three.

Why was Kaiser Wilhelm II unhappy about European actions in Morocco? The acceptable answer is: He believed that they were trying to make themselves more powerful.

A good answer with more detail is: Kaiser Wilhelm II was unhappy about this because he believed that the European powers were trying to exclude Germany from decisions about North Africa so that they could be more powerful.

He also argued that in 1880, the European powers had agreed on Moroccan independence.

Well done if you used specific detail to support that answer.

Let's have a look at question four.

Question four.

What did he decide to do? The acceptable answer is: He made a speech in support of Moroccan independence.

A good answer with more detail is: In 1905 the Kaiser sailed to Tangiers and made a speech in favour of Moroccan independence.

He also said that he expected Germany to have equal access in terms of trade.

His comments were intended as a message to France that he didn't accept their control.

Really well done if you developed with some detail here.

For example, like the date and the specific location that the Kaiser went to.

If you'd like to add more detail, go ahead, pause the video and do so.

If not, let's take a look at question five.

Question five.

What happened at the Algeciras conference? The acceptable answer is: France's influence over Morocco was accepted.

A good answer is: The majority of the European powers supported France's claim to Morocco, except Germany and Austria-Hungary.

They agreed that France would retain dominance in Morocco, but that other countries would have access to equal trade.

Well done if you added those details.

Let's take a look at question six.

Question six.

What happened in 1911? The French invaded Morocco and Germany sent a warship to Algiers.

That's the acceptable answer.

A good answer with more detail is: In 1911, the French invaded Morocco to establish control.

They told Germany that they could have compensation for lost trade, but Germany was angry that they were breaking the terms of the Algeciras conference and sent a warship to Algiers.

This was seen as a huge act of aggression.

Very well done if you added specific details here and used full sentences to extend your answer.

Let's take a look at question number seven.

Question number seven.

How was this resolved? The acceptable answer is: That France and Spain assumed a protectorate over Morocco.

A good answer is: To resolve this problem, another conference was called between the European powers.

Once again, Germany's views were excluded and Britain sided with France.

France and Spain assumed a protectorate over Morocco from 1912 onwards and Germany was compensated with land from Central Africa.

Very well done if you've got this right.

Do remember to pause the video and correct your answers if you think you missed something, and also remember that our answers could be different.

So give yourself a tick if you got any correct details and don't be too hard on yourself if it looks a bit different to mine.

Well done.

Our challenge question.

Very well done if you answered this one.

What was the long-term impact of tension over Morocco? The correct and acceptable answer is: Tension which led to World War One.

I've written a slightly longer answer that should model what a good developed challenge answer should look like.

I'll read it to you.

The long-term impact of tension over Morocco was that it caused tension between the European powers, which could have led to World War One.

For example, Europe was now firmly divided into two systems of alliance, with Britain and France on one side, and Germany on another.

Britain had supported France against Germany in the Moroccan Crises, which had brought them closer together against Germany.

It had also angered the Kaiser.

This meant that although the powers did not go to war over Morocco in 1912, there were still remaining long-term tension which contributed to the First World War.

Very well done if you wrote an extended answer with any details that suggested that tension over Morocco could have contributed to tension that led to the First World War.

You may have focused on something different.

You may have said that the tension over Morocco put Britain and France closer together.

You might have talked about them allying against Germany.

All of those things would have been correct.

if you're not quite sure if you've got this, then go ahead and pause the video and add some detail.

Really well done for your work on this.

So we have now reached the end of our enquiry, and we're ready to actually think about this question.

Did tensions over Africa make a European war more likely? I wonder if you've already got a view in your head.

Have a think about it before we run over what we've learned so far in this enquiry, and we come to make a decision.

Before you make that decision, it would be a good idea for us to go back over some of the key dates and events that we've learnt about so you can use them in your answer.

So on the left-hand side of the screen, I've just indicated this whole period is known as the Scramble for Africa.

And we're going to go over some of the key dates that we've looked at.

So the big story begins with the Suez Canal opening under the French in 1869.

If you remember, the Egyptians and the French decided to have this joint project where they would build a trade route that went between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.

In 1875, the British bought shares in this canal after initially saying they weren't interested.

So before the Scramble for Africa had fully started, there's already some tension between Britain and France over the country Egypt.

In 1882, Britain took political control of Egypt.

And if you remember, this caused some tension between them and the French.

In 1884 and 1885, the Berlin Conference happened, where the European powers decided to talk about how to regulate their ambitions in Africa.

In 1898, Britain and France almost went to war over the Fashoda Crisis.

So this was one of their flashpoints where their militaries both met in the Sudan, but eventually they were able to come to a compromise.

In 1899, Britain and France agrees to recognise each other's colonies.

So this tension had alleviated a little bit.

1904, Britain and France become allies.

And if you'll remember, this was partially to do with this threat of Germany.

In 1905 was the First Moroccan Crisis.

So this is when Kaiser Wilhelm sailed to Morocco and made a speech in favour of independence, which the French found quite offensive.

1906 was the Conference of Algeciras, where the European powers came together to decide what to do over Morocco.

And at this conference Germany's views weren't really taken into account.

Britain and France stuck together against them.

1911, the Second Moroccan Crisis, so a little bit more serious now.

We've got the French invasion of Morocco, the Germans sending a warship.

In 1912 this is resolved when France and Spain take, assume a protectorate over Morocco.

So once again, the resolution prevents war in the short term, but it definitely goes against what Germany wanted.

And then in 1914, the outbreak of WWI, the First World War.

So this is the basic chronology of the period that we've looked at so far.

A reminder, the Scramble for Africa was a story of a whole continent.

I've been very selective in what I've spoken about because we only had four lessons in which to do this.

So this is not everything that happened, but this is a decent chronology of the events which may or may not have contributed to the outbreak of the First World War.

And if you would like to, we've got an extension activity for you now, to draw together.

There's four lessons worth of enquiry, and think about did tensions over Africa make a European war more likely.

This is why at the beginning of the lesson, I said you may want to have your notes from previous lessons because this question is drawing together four lessons worth of learning.

In order for you to answer this question, I've given you some sentence starters and key words that you could use.

You may notice that I've given you two sets of sentence starters for two different sides of the argument.

A really good answer to this question would argue both sides.

So on the one hand, it could be argued that tension made a European war more likely.

And then on the other hand, it could be argued that competition in Africa prevented war in Europe.

If you really want to challenge yourself, you can write a small paragraph to each side of the argument and then write your own opinion at the bottom.

There's key words on the right that might help you to do this.

If you're not sure of how to plan this answer, I've given you some ideas here.

So on the left-hand side, I've given evidence that you could use to agree.

Yes, tension over Africa did make a European war more likely.

And things that we could talk about could be the Berlin conference caused a desperate land grab for power and influence.

The European powers tried to block off each other's influence.

For example, Britain and Germany, Britain and France, Germany and France.

Germany and France almost went to war over Morocco and war put the long-term alliance system in place, which was a big cause of WWI.

On the other hand, we have some evidence to suggest no it didn't.

For example, it prevented the European powers from trying to expand in Europe.

In many cases they were able to hold conferences about their disagreements.

For example, Berlin, Fashoda, Algeciras.

And Britain and France's relationship improved.

If you would like to, you can use my plan in order to help you complete your extension question.

Now you've had some guidance from me.

You're ready to pause your video and complete the extension question.

This is the end of the whole enquiry, so remember to really challenge yourself with full sentences, historical detail, and make an effort to acknowledge both sides of the argument.

When you're happy with what you've got, resume the video, and we'll take a look at mine.

Good luck.

Well done, welcome back.

Really good job if you answered this extension question.

This is really, really tough, and I'm really, really pleased that you've given it a go.

I'm going to read through my answer, and remember it could well look very different to yours, but that does not mean that yours is wrong.

Let's have a look at what I said.

On the one hand, it could be argued that tension over Africa made a European war more likely because it caused the European powers to form alliances against one another.

Evidence to support this is the fact that Britain and France formed the Entente Cordiale in 1904.

One of the main reasons that they did this was to counter the threat of Germany, and they clearly opposed Germany during the Moroccan Crises.

This meant that there were long-time rivalries which caused tension between the European powers.

On the other hand, it could be argued that competition in Africa actually prevented war in Europe because it allowed the European powers to extend their influence without impacting European borders.

For example, the newly independent Belgium and the newly formed Germany and Italy were able to gain colonies, which gave them some wealth and power.

If they had attempted to do this in Europe, it almost certainly would have started a war.

Overall, I believe that tensions over Africa did make a European war more likely because it's cemented a rival system of alliances, which was to cause long-term tension.

So this answer is a good answer because it balances two sides of the argument with evidence to support either side, and then it comes to its own view.

Very well done if you did anything that looks like that.

If you would like to add some detail to your notes, you can go ahead and pause the video and use my answer to help you.

That takes us to the end of the lesson and to the end of our enquiry into tension over Africa and the First World War.

Really well done.

I hope you've enjoyed this.

It's quite a difficult one, but it's really interesting to answer that question.

So thank you very, very much.

Well done, and don't forget to complete the exit quiz once you've closed this.

Take care.

A reminder, complete the exit quiz after you've closed this window.

And if you would like to know what happens next, then it would be a really good idea for you to try our next enquiry.

How far did assassination cause the First World War? We've only looked at one aspect of causes of the First World War, and it would be a really good idea for you to go on and look at our next enquiry now that you've got all of this knowledge behind you about the Scramble for Africa, and it will be really helpful for you in order to answer that question.

So go ahead if you'd like to give it a go.

If you would like to, you're also welcome to share your work with Oak National.

You can ask your parent or carer to do this on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, tagging @OakNational and #LearnwithOak.

Thank you very much, see you next time.