On March 31st, 1905, the German Kaiser, Wilhelm II, surprised the world with an unscheduled

appearance at the ancient Moroccan port city of Tangier.

The French had been getting more and more deeply involved in Moroccan affairs, and it was

an open secret that they were interested in adding one of the last few independent

states in Africa into France's colonial empire.

And it was no secret that the Kaiser had made his appearance in Morocco to foil French ambition.

The Kaiser's visit was the throwing down of a gauntlet.

Afterward, one German foreign ministry official wrote,

There will be moments of tension before this business is over.

That was an understatement.

Welcome to the history of the 20th century.

Music of the 20th century. Episode 40 Moments of Tension

In early 1905, Kaiser Wilhelm had been on a Mediterranean cruise.

He had considered a stop in Morocco, but had decided against it.

The Kaiser had taken an interest in Islam a few years ago,

and he fancied himself an advocate for and defender of Muslims in their faith,

at a time when the majority of the world's Muslims lived in the British Empire.

But it would be difficult to debark, because his cruise ship was too big to get into the harbor at

Tangier, meaning he would have to climb down into a smaller boat, an awkward task for a man with

only one good arm, and everyone knew that the French were angling for control of Morocco,

so for the Kaiser to appear there would be a political statement.

And he wasn't in the Mediterranean to make political statements.

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