THE MOROCCAN CRISES (1905-1911) AND THE POLICIES IMPLEMENTED BY THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE DURING THE CRISES

Abstract

In the quarter of a century before the First World War, there were numerous economic and political developments that shaped the Allied and Entente blocs. The Moroccan crisis holds a decisive place within these developments. The struggle of the Western Powers to share Morocco at the beginning of the 20th century was at the center of the crisis. The unequal bilateral relations developed between the Ottoman Empire and the Western Powers during the process of opening up to capitalism influenced the foreign policy as well as the economic policies of the state. In this study, the economic, political and social foundations of the policies followed by the Ottoman Empire during the crisis in Morocco, which was both its neighbor in terms of its domination area and its ideological rival in the Islamic world, are discussed using primary sources. In this context, the aim of the study is to reveal whether the Ottoman Empire, depending on its perception of threat, tried to implement a set of reactive, preventive, and supportive policies towards Morocco in terms of military, political, or economic aspects. The findings of the study show that the policies implemented are carried out on a political and military basis and through indirect channels. As a matter of fact, the Ottoman Empire's approach to the Moroccan crises was shaped by Pan-Islamist policies under the influence of Germany, the preservation of its sovereign rights in North Africa, the protection of its subjects in the region, and the question of nationality and the repercussions of the Franco-German rivalry in Morocco on the Ottoman country.