WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.980 Welcome to another deep dive. Today, our mission 00:00:03.980 --> 00:00:06.799 is to unpack an incredibly fascinating piece 00:00:06.799 --> 00:00:10.660 of history using a single, highly detailed Wikipedia 00:00:10.660 --> 00:00:13.699 article covering the Entente Cordiale. Yeah, 00:00:13.800 --> 00:00:16.199 the Entente Cordiale, it is quite the document. 00:00:16.280 --> 00:00:18.480 It really is. We are going to dig into the text, 00:00:18.760 --> 00:00:21.379 extract the most crucial insights and figure 00:00:21.379 --> 00:00:24.239 out how exactly this reshapes the world you and 00:00:24.239 --> 00:00:26.679 I live in today. Just imagine this for a second. 00:00:26.839 --> 00:00:29.960 You have a bitter thousand -year -long rivalry 00:00:29.960 --> 00:00:32.200 with your neighbor. A literal millennium of bad 00:00:32.200 --> 00:00:34.799 blood. Right. We are talking about intermittent 00:00:34.799 --> 00:00:37.140 conflict stretching back through the predecessors 00:00:37.140 --> 00:00:40.259 of both your nations. Think, um, Agent Corps, 00:00:40.560 --> 00:00:42.640 Joan of Arc, Waterloo centuries of basically 00:00:42.640 --> 00:00:45.060 trying to destroy each other. And then one day 00:00:45.060 --> 00:00:46.979 you sit down, sign a piece of paper, and suddenly 00:00:46.979 --> 00:00:49.520 change the entire course of global history. It 00:00:49.520 --> 00:00:52.039 is an astounding pivot. And, you know, we have 00:00:52.039 --> 00:00:54.240 to remember, this isn't just some dusty historical 00:00:54.240 --> 00:00:56.530 footnote. No, definitely not. When we look at 00:00:56.530 --> 00:00:59.109 the alliances that triggered World War I, the 00:00:59.109 --> 00:01:01.869 very alliances that shaped the borders and conflicts 00:01:01.869 --> 00:01:04.709 of the modern world, it all traces back to this 00:01:04.709 --> 00:01:07.909 exact moment. What we are looking at today is 00:01:07.909 --> 00:01:11.310 a masterclass in how shifting global powers, 00:01:11.730 --> 00:01:14.469 mutual fear, and highly practical compromises 00:01:14.469 --> 00:01:17.310 can override centuries of hostility. Pragmatism 00:01:17.310 --> 00:01:20.359 over pride, basically. Exactly. We're exploring 00:01:20.359 --> 00:01:23.180 how an ancient rivalry was shucked off not out 00:01:23.180 --> 00:01:26.159 of sudden affection but out of sheer Pragmatic 00:01:26.159 --> 00:01:28.620 necessity. Okay, let's unpack this to really 00:01:28.620 --> 00:01:30.859 understand the magnitude of this agreement We 00:01:30.859 --> 00:01:33.260 have to set the stage in the late 19th century 00:01:33.260 --> 00:01:36.640 We do the geopolitical landscape before 1904 00:01:36.640 --> 00:01:38.840 was completely different from the alliances we 00:01:38.840 --> 00:01:41.040 think of today, right? You had Britain enjoying 00:01:41.040 --> 00:01:44.239 this policy of Splendid isolation. They were 00:01:44.239 --> 00:01:46.159 essentially sitting on their island ruling the 00:01:46.159 --> 00:01:48.900 waves ignoring continental Europe entirely unless 00:01:48.900 --> 00:01:50.560 strict British interests were threatened, of 00:01:50.560 --> 00:01:53.000 course. Right, exactly. On the other side of 00:01:53.000 --> 00:01:55.659 the English Channel, France was also incredibly 00:01:55.659 --> 00:01:59.560 isolated, but totally against their will. Our 00:01:59.560 --> 00:02:01.900 source mentions they were reeling from the Franco 00:02:01.900 --> 00:02:04.579 -Prussian War and dealing with the German Chancellor 00:02:04.579 --> 00:02:08.419 Otto von Bismarck. But for anyone who might not 00:02:08.419 --> 00:02:11.099 be totally brushed up on their 19th century European 00:02:11.099 --> 00:02:14.080 history, what exactly did that isolation look 00:02:14.080 --> 00:02:16.259 like for France? If we connect this to the bigger 00:02:16.259 --> 00:02:18.639 picture, we can see exactly why this status quo 00:02:18.639 --> 00:02:21.599 was destined to crack. The Franco -Prussian War, 00:02:21.680 --> 00:02:25.020 which ended in 1871, was a massive, humiliating 00:02:25.020 --> 00:02:26.819 defeat for France. They lost a lot of ground 00:02:26.819 --> 00:02:28.699 there. They did. They lost territory, specifically 00:02:28.699 --> 00:02:31.020 Alsace -Lorraine, and they were desperate for 00:02:31.020 --> 00:02:34.099 security. Otto von Bismarck, the German chancellor 00:02:34.099 --> 00:02:36.539 who essentially orchestrated that defeat, was 00:02:36.539 --> 00:02:39.099 a master chess player. He knew France might eventually 00:02:39.099 --> 00:02:41.340 seek revenge, so he deliberately penned them 00:02:41.340 --> 00:02:43.580 in diplomatically. He boxed them into a corner. 00:02:44.159 --> 00:02:46.259 Exactly. He built this complex web of alliances 00:02:46.259 --> 00:02:48.520 to ensure France couldn't find a strong European 00:02:48.520 --> 00:02:51.340 partner. So France was trapped in this enforced 00:02:51.340 --> 00:02:54.479 loneliness. Meanwhile, across the channel, Britain's 00:02:54.479 --> 00:02:56.439 famous confidence was taking a real beating. 00:02:56.639 --> 00:02:58.960 The Boer War, right? Yes, the Second Boer War 00:02:58.960 --> 00:03:02.580 in South Africa. It was a messy, incredibly costly 00:03:02.580 --> 00:03:05.919 conflict that exposed glaring weaknesses in the 00:03:05.919 --> 00:03:09.240 British military. Plus, they were growing terrified 00:03:09.240 --> 00:03:12.240 of Germany's rapidly rising industrial and naval 00:03:12.240 --> 00:03:15.199 strength. Splendid isolation was very quickly 00:03:15.199 --> 00:03:17.219 starting to look like dangerous vulnerability. 00:03:17.520 --> 00:03:20.500 Which brings us to a specific, highly dramatic 00:03:20.500 --> 00:03:22.900 moment mentioned in our source text, the Fashoda 00:03:22.900 --> 00:03:26.080 incident of 1898. The text hints that this was 00:03:26.080 --> 00:03:28.199 a boiling point where Britain and France almost 00:03:28.199 --> 00:03:31.240 went to outright war over the Sudan, but France 00:03:31.240 --> 00:03:34.139 ultimately backed down. What exactly happened 00:03:34.139 --> 00:03:36.439 in the mud of Fashoda? Well, the scramble for 00:03:36.439 --> 00:03:39.050 Africa was in full swing. And both of these empires 00:03:39.050 --> 00:03:41.009 were trying to connect their colonial territories. 00:03:41.870 --> 00:03:43.629 Britain wanted a continuous line of control from 00:03:43.629 --> 00:03:46.629 Egypt down to South Africa. France wanted a continuous 00:03:46.629 --> 00:03:49.210 line from West Africa across to the Red Sea. 00:03:49.349 --> 00:03:51.509 And those lines crossed. They intersected at 00:03:51.509 --> 00:03:53.889 a tiny, obscure outpost on the Upper Nile called 00:03:53.889 --> 00:03:56.830 Feshoda. The French sent a small expeditionary 00:03:56.830 --> 00:03:58.870 force there, and the British sent a much larger 00:03:58.870 --> 00:04:01.370 one. They literally stared each other down. Just 00:04:01.370 --> 00:04:03.629 waiting to see who would blink first. Exactly. 00:04:04.140 --> 00:04:06.319 But the French government looked at the situation, 00:04:07.039 --> 00:04:09.319 realized their Navy was vastly inferior to the 00:04:09.319 --> 00:04:11.719 British Royal Navy, and knew they couldn't win 00:04:11.719 --> 00:04:14.919 a wider war. So they swallowed their pride and 00:04:14.919 --> 00:04:17.000 ordered their troops to withdraw. That had to 00:04:17.000 --> 00:04:19.720 be a massive diplomatic humiliation for the French 00:04:19.720 --> 00:04:22.779 public. Oh, it was devastating. You would naturally 00:04:22.779 --> 00:04:25.100 assume that such a bitter humiliation would make 00:04:25.100 --> 00:04:28.149 France hate Britain even more. Perhaps irreparably. 00:04:28.389 --> 00:04:30.389 Yeah, that would be my guess. But it actually 00:04:30.389 --> 00:04:32.709 had the exact opposite effect on the newly appointed 00:04:32.709 --> 00:04:36.810 French foreign minister, Tillefield Delcassé. 00:04:37.129 --> 00:04:39.769 Fashoda was a wake -up call for him. It proved 00:04:39.769 --> 00:04:42.589 just how vulnerable France really was. He realized 00:04:42.589 --> 00:04:45.470 they needed friends. Yes. He realized that holding 00:04:45.470 --> 00:04:48.110 onto this ancient grudge with Britain was a luxury 00:04:48.110 --> 00:04:50.389 France could no longer afford, especially with 00:04:50.389 --> 00:04:52.209 the German threat looming in Western Europe. 00:04:53.060 --> 00:04:55.319 Daukas decided that securing Britain's friendship 00:04:55.319 --> 00:04:57.500 was the only way to protect France against the 00:04:57.500 --> 00:05:00.040 German system of alliances. It's wild to think 00:05:00.040 --> 00:05:02.420 a near war actually laid the groundwork for peace. 00:05:03.000 --> 00:05:04.980 But our source text notes that Britain didn't 00:05:04.980 --> 00:05:07.779 immediately run into France's arms. In fact, 00:05:07.899 --> 00:05:10.480 they came incredibly close to allying with Germany 00:05:10.480 --> 00:05:13.959 instead. They really did. Between 1898 and 1901, 00:05:14.139 --> 00:05:16.819 the British colonial secretary, Jason Chamberlain, 00:05:17.120 --> 00:05:19.600 initiated three whole rounds of British -German 00:05:19.600 --> 00:05:22.740 talks. Britain was shopping for friends and Germany 00:05:22.740 --> 00:05:25.019 seemed like a logical, perhaps even culturally 00:05:25.019 --> 00:05:28.560 closer fit at the time. They explored joining 00:05:28.560 --> 00:05:31.379 the Triple Alliance, which was Germany, Austria, 00:05:31.519 --> 00:05:33.850 Hungary and Italy. So why didn't that happen? 00:05:34.230 --> 00:05:36.329 The British ultimately decided the terms were 00:05:36.329 --> 00:05:38.110 just too restrictive. They didn't want to be 00:05:38.110 --> 00:05:40.430 dragged into a war over Austria's problems in 00:05:40.430 --> 00:05:42.750 the Balkans. So they broke off negotiations with 00:05:42.750 --> 00:05:45.189 Berlin. Only after that door closed did they 00:05:45.189 --> 00:05:47.689 seriously revive the idea of an alliance with 00:05:47.689 --> 00:05:49.930 France. Even after those talks with Germany fell 00:05:49.930 --> 00:05:52.569 apart, the text suggests Britain and France still 00:05:52.569 --> 00:05:55.350 needed a massive external shock to finally force 00:05:55.350 --> 00:05:57.949 them to the negotiating table. The Russo -Japanese 00:05:57.949 --> 00:06:00.740 War. Right. The immediate trigger was the Russo 00:06:00.740 --> 00:06:04.040 -Japanese War. How did a war in East Asia almost 00:06:04.040 --> 00:06:06.300 cause Britain and France to shoot at each other 00:06:06.300 --> 00:06:09.240 in Europe? A classic example of the domino effect 00:06:09.240 --> 00:06:12.500 of alliances. By the early 1900s, France had 00:06:12.500 --> 00:06:15.399 finally managed to secure one major ally, Russia. 00:06:15.819 --> 00:06:17.980 This was the Franco -Russian alliance of 1894. 00:06:18.579 --> 00:06:20.740 Britain, meanwhile, had recently stepped out 00:06:20.740 --> 00:06:22.860 of its isolation to sign the Anglo -Japanese 00:06:22.860 --> 00:06:25.560 alliance in 1902. Oh, wow. So they were tied 00:06:25.560 --> 00:06:28.439 to opposite sides. Precisely. When tensions between 00:06:28.439 --> 00:06:30.939 Russia and Japan boiled over into outright war 00:06:30.939 --> 00:06:34.019 in 1904, both Paris and London panicked. They 00:06:34.019 --> 00:06:35.759 suddenly found themselves looking down the barrel 00:06:35.759 --> 00:06:38.199 of a global conflict. If Russia called on France 00:06:38.199 --> 00:06:40.399 and Japan called on Britain, these two nations 00:06:40.399 --> 00:06:42.319 were going to be dragged into a massive devastating 00:06:42.319 --> 00:06:44.699 war on opposite sides simply because of their 00:06:44.699 --> 00:06:47.300 friends. Talk about an emergency break. To avoid 00:06:47.300 --> 00:06:49.620 destroying each other over a conflict thousands 00:06:49.620 --> 00:06:52.259 of miles away, they finally sat down to resolve 00:06:52.259 --> 00:06:54.660 their differences. Which brings us to the agreement 00:06:54.660 --> 00:06:59.079 itself. Yes, the name Entente Cordiale literally 00:06:59.079 --> 00:07:02.379 translates to cordial agreement or cordial understanding. 00:07:02.939 --> 00:07:05.040 The source points out a really fun origin for 00:07:05.040 --> 00:07:07.220 this term. It didn't just appear out of thin 00:07:07.220 --> 00:07:10.199 air in 1904, right? No, it actually dates back 00:07:10.199 --> 00:07:13.160 to an 1843 letter written by the British Foreign 00:07:13.160 --> 00:07:16.069 Secretary, Lord Aberdeen, to his brother. He 00:07:16.069 --> 00:07:18.410 was just casually discussing relations and mentioned 00:07:18.410 --> 00:07:20.769 a cordial, good understanding between the two 00:07:20.769 --> 00:07:23.910 nations. That is amazing. That phrase was translated 00:07:23.910 --> 00:07:26.389 into French as la tante cordiale and was even 00:07:26.389 --> 00:07:29.069 used by King Ludie Philippe I in the French Chamber 00:07:29.069 --> 00:07:31.949 of Peers that same year. It's fascinating how 00:07:31.949 --> 00:07:34.350 a casual phrase and a letter between brothers 00:07:34.350 --> 00:07:37.149 became the title of a world -changing diplomatic 00:07:37.149 --> 00:07:39.800 shift. But the source makes it clear that the 00:07:39.800 --> 00:07:42.399 modern use of the term almost always denotes 00:07:42.399 --> 00:07:45.139 the specific 1904 agreement. The one signed on 00:07:45.139 --> 00:07:47.860 April 8th. Exactly. And the key players who actually 00:07:47.860 --> 00:07:49.819 signed the deal were French Foreign Minister 00:07:49.819 --> 00:07:52.319 Théophile Delcasse, the French Ambassador Paul 00:07:52.319 --> 00:07:54.720 Cambon, and the British Foreign Secretary Lord 00:07:54.720 --> 00:07:57.839 Lansdowne. Those three men effectively ended 00:07:57.839 --> 00:08:00.300 a thousand years of hostility. But we need to 00:08:00.300 --> 00:08:02.379 look closely at what they actually signed. Here's 00:08:02.379 --> 00:08:04.589 where it gets really interesting. Because when 00:08:04.589 --> 00:08:06.769 you hear on Tante Tordial, you might picture 00:08:06.769 --> 00:08:10.290 a grand romantic peace treaty declaring eternal 00:08:10.290 --> 00:08:12.569 friendship and military brotherhood. A lot of 00:08:12.569 --> 00:08:14.759 people do. But reading through the text, that 00:08:14.759 --> 00:08:17.100 wasn't it at all. It was basically a massive 00:08:17.100 --> 00:08:20.259 global real estate swap. It really was. It was 00:08:20.259 --> 00:08:23.779 divided into three highly practical, very specific 00:08:23.779 --> 00:08:26.339 documents. Let's break down the sheer global 00:08:26.339 --> 00:08:29.259 scale of these colonial trades. The first document 00:08:29.259 --> 00:08:32.220 was the declaration respecting Egypt and Morocco. 00:08:32.940 --> 00:08:35.620 The gist is that France agreed not to obstruct 00:08:35.620 --> 00:08:38.580 British actions in Egypt. And in return, Britain 00:08:38.580 --> 00:08:41.320 promised to let France preserve order in Morocco. 00:08:41.500 --> 00:08:43.720 Right. They essentially to stop stepping on each 00:08:43.720 --> 00:08:46.259 other's toes in North Africa. It also guaranteed 00:08:46.259 --> 00:08:48.840 free passage through the Suez Canal, forbidding 00:08:48.840 --> 00:08:50.659 fortifications on part of the Moroccan coast. 00:08:50.720 --> 00:08:53.759 Just carving up influence. Absolutely. But the 00:08:53.759 --> 00:08:56.480 truly cynical part of this first document was 00:08:56.480 --> 00:08:59.659 the secret annex. Yes. The source mentions an 00:08:59.659 --> 00:09:02.000 annex dealing with the possibility of changed 00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:04.179 circumstances in the administration of either 00:09:04.179 --> 00:09:06.740 of those two countries. Basically, they were 00:09:06.740 --> 00:09:09.480 looking the local rulers in the eye while secretly 00:09:09.480 --> 00:09:11.860 drawing up plans for what to do when those local 00:09:11.860 --> 00:09:14.620 governments inevitably collapsed. It was incredibly 00:09:14.620 --> 00:09:16.740 calculated. And then you have the second document 00:09:16.740 --> 00:09:18.860 which dealt with territories in Newfoundland 00:09:18.860 --> 00:09:21.429 and parts of West and Central Africa. The geographic 00:09:21.429 --> 00:09:24.909 spread here is just staggering. It is. France 00:09:24.909 --> 00:09:27.169 gave up its historical territorial rights over 00:09:27.169 --> 00:09:29.789 the western coast of New Zealand, a right stemming 00:09:29.789 --> 00:09:31.929 all the way back to the Treaty of Utrecht in 00:09:31.929 --> 00:09:35.929 1713 that was known as the French shore. They 00:09:35.929 --> 00:09:38.149 did, however, retain the right to fish the coast. 00:09:38.350 --> 00:09:40.990 Wait, let me get this straight. France had territorial 00:09:40.990 --> 00:09:43.610 rights to part of Canada dating back centuries, 00:09:43.610 --> 00:09:46.190 and they traded that away. What did Britain give 00:09:46.190 --> 00:09:48.190 them in return for giving up the French shore? 00:09:48.409 --> 00:09:50.909 Britain handed France, the town of Yorubutenda, 00:09:51.149 --> 00:09:53.190 near the modern border of Senegal and the Gambia, 00:09:53.570 --> 00:09:56.049 and the Iles de Los, which is the group of islands 00:09:56.049 --> 00:09:58.529 off modern Guinea. They also threw in a provision 00:09:58.529 --> 00:10:00.769 that redefined the border between French and 00:10:00.769 --> 00:10:03.210 British possessions east of the River Niger, 00:10:03.610 --> 00:10:05.610 heavily favoring France and modern day Niger 00:10:05.610 --> 00:10:08.750 and Nigeria. It is just wild to think about them 00:10:08.750 --> 00:10:11.789 swapping towns in West Africa for fishing rights 00:10:11.789 --> 00:10:14.490 in Canada, like trading cards. How on earth did 00:10:14.490 --> 00:10:17.789 they justify this? It is essential to view this 00:10:17.789 --> 00:10:20.750 through a critical historical lens. As the source 00:10:20.750 --> 00:10:23.389 material outlines, on the surface, they're resolving 00:10:23.389 --> 00:10:26.289 fishing disputes and adjusting borders. But fundamentally, 00:10:26.450 --> 00:10:29.250 this was two massive empires casually dividing 00:10:29.250 --> 00:10:31.750 up the globe, mapping out spheres of influence 00:10:31.750 --> 00:10:34.450 over millions of people, primarily to solve their 00:10:34.450 --> 00:10:37.179 own European anxieties. We are definitely keeping 00:10:37.179 --> 00:10:39.379 a neutral stance on the politics of empire here, 00:10:39.500 --> 00:10:41.740 just reporting what the text says, but it is 00:10:41.740 --> 00:10:44.360 undeniably striking to read about. It is a stark 00:10:44.360 --> 00:10:46.919 reality of that era's diplomacy. And the third 00:10:46.919 --> 00:10:49.299 document went even further east, proving your 00:10:49.299 --> 00:10:53.230 point perfectly. It concerned Siam, modern -day 00:10:53.230 --> 00:10:56.169 Thailand, Madagascar, and the new Hebrides, which 00:10:56.169 --> 00:10:59.509 is modern Vanuatu. Another massive leap across 00:10:59.509 --> 00:11:03.090 the map. For Siam, they actually carved out proposed 00:11:03.090 --> 00:11:05.970 spheres of influence. They took the Chao Phraya 00:11:05.970 --> 00:11:08.610 River Basin and literally split it down the middle. 00:11:08.840 --> 00:11:12.120 The British recognized a proposed French sphere 00:11:12.120 --> 00:11:15.019 to the east, and the French recognized a proposed 00:11:15.019 --> 00:11:17.720 British influence to the west. They disclaimed 00:11:17.720 --> 00:11:21.000 any idea of officially annexing Siamese territory, 00:11:21.340 --> 00:11:23.799 but they were still drawing imaginary lines over 00:11:23.799 --> 00:11:25.679 a sovereign nation. They were securing their 00:11:25.679 --> 00:11:27.899 imperial borders to ensure they didn't trip into 00:11:27.899 --> 00:11:30.600 a war with each other over a faraway river basin, 00:11:31.259 --> 00:11:33.139 especially when that looming threat of Germany 00:11:33.370 --> 00:11:35.889 was growing right in their own backyard. Right. 00:11:36.070 --> 00:11:37.830 Keep the peace abroad to prepare for trouble 00:11:37.830 --> 00:11:40.490 at home. Exactly. They also threw in an agreement 00:11:40.490 --> 00:11:42.610 where Britain withdrew its objection to a French 00:11:42.610 --> 00:11:45.330 tariff in Madagascar, and they sorted out jurisdiction 00:11:45.330 --> 00:11:48.309 in the New Hebrids. The sheer scale of what they 00:11:48.309 --> 00:11:50.950 were trading highlights how vast these two empires 00:11:50.950 --> 00:11:53.480 were at the time. That brings up a specific, 00:11:53.480 --> 00:11:55.779 vivid image from the source text that captures 00:11:55.779 --> 00:11:58.360 the mood of the era perfectly. It's a famous 00:11:58.360 --> 00:12:00.860 cartoon published in Punch magazine. Oh, that 00:12:00.860 --> 00:12:03.539 cartoon is a classic. It shows the personification 00:12:03.539 --> 00:12:06.500 of Britain, John Bull, walking off arm -in -arm 00:12:06.500 --> 00:12:08.759 with Marianne, who represents France, wearing 00:12:08.759 --> 00:12:11.480 a tri -color dress. They are turning their backs 00:12:11.480 --> 00:12:14.100 entirely on the German Kaiser. And he does not 00:12:14.100 --> 00:12:16.519 look happy. No. The Kaiser is standing there, 00:12:16.559 --> 00:12:19.379 pretending not to care, but the text notes a 00:12:19.379 --> 00:12:23.210 brilliant, menacing detail. The tip of the scabbard 00:12:23.210 --> 00:12:26.250 of a cavalry saber is protruding from beneath 00:12:26.250 --> 00:12:29.090 the Kaiser's army overcoat. It's this visual 00:12:29.090 --> 00:12:31.649 implication that Germany was not going to take 00:12:31.649 --> 00:12:34.330 this new friendship lying down. What's fascinating 00:12:34.330 --> 00:12:36.710 here is understanding the true nature of what 00:12:36.710 --> 00:12:39.070 Britain and France had actually signed and why 00:12:39.070 --> 00:12:41.919 that cartoon is so perceptive. How so? Well, 00:12:41.940 --> 00:12:44.480 the Entente was not a formal military alliance. 00:12:44.879 --> 00:12:47.039 It did not involve a promise of close military 00:12:47.039 --> 00:12:50.000 collaboration. And technically, it wasn't even 00:12:50.000 --> 00:12:52.240 officially directed against Germany. That is 00:12:52.240 --> 00:12:55.960 so counterintuitive. I know. To understand how 00:12:55.960 --> 00:12:58.659 tenuous it was, look at the internal minute written 00:12:58.659 --> 00:13:01.659 by Air Crow, a British Foreign Office official, 00:13:01.879 --> 00:13:05.019 in early 1911. French press reports were complaining 00:13:05.019 --> 00:13:07.659 about the moribund state of the Entente compared 00:13:07.659 --> 00:13:10.620 to the strength of the Triple Alliance. Croix 00:13:10.620 --> 00:13:12.440 explicitly wrote that the Entente was, quote, 00:13:12.820 --> 00:13:15.500 nothing more than a frame of mind. Hold on, nothing 00:13:15.500 --> 00:13:18.379 more than a frame of mind. They based the entire 00:13:18.379 --> 00:13:20.980 geopolitical stability of 20th century Europe 00:13:20.980 --> 00:13:23.799 on a vibe. That is terrifying. It really was 00:13:23.799 --> 00:13:26.860 just a shared view of general policy. Crow elaborated 00:13:26.860 --> 00:13:28.679 that this frame of mind might become so vague 00:13:28.679 --> 00:13:31.080 as to lose all content. He literally said that 00:13:31.080 --> 00:13:32.860 for ultimate emergencies, it might be found to 00:13:32.860 --> 00:13:35.899 have no substance at all. If push came to shove, 00:13:36.240 --> 00:13:38.179 there was no legal requirement for Britain to 00:13:38.179 --> 00:13:40.419 send a single soldier to help France. So it was 00:13:40.419 --> 00:13:42.700 just a fragile threat. A very fragile threat. 00:13:42.980 --> 00:13:45.100 But ironically, our source shows that it was 00:13:45.100 --> 00:13:47.559 Germany who accidentally cemented this partnership 00:13:47.559 --> 00:13:50.600 and turned that fragile thread into a steel cable. 00:13:51.360 --> 00:13:53.440 Germany tried to test the Entente to see if they 00:13:53.440 --> 00:13:56.700 could upset or break it. This happened in 1905 00:13:56.700 --> 00:13:59.080 with the Tangier incident, also known as the 00:13:59.080 --> 00:14:02.500 First Moroccan Crisis. What exactly was Germany's 00:14:02.500 --> 00:14:05.519 game plan there? The Kaiser went to Tangier in 00:14:05.519 --> 00:14:07.779 Morocco and basically declared support for the 00:14:07.779 --> 00:14:10.720 Sultan of Morocco's independence. This was a 00:14:10.720 --> 00:14:12.720 direct challenge to the first document of the 00:14:12.720 --> 00:14:15.019 Entente Cordiale, where Britain had agreed to 00:14:15.019 --> 00:14:17.240 let France have a free hand in Morocco. Calling 00:14:17.240 --> 00:14:20.220 their bluff. Precisely. Germany was trying to 00:14:20.220 --> 00:14:22.620 intimidate France and proved to Paris that Britain 00:14:22.620 --> 00:14:24.340 wouldn't actually stand by them when things got 00:14:24.340 --> 00:14:27.059 difficult. The goal was to drive a wedge between 00:14:27.059 --> 00:14:29.700 London and Paris. But the plan completely backfired, 00:14:29.840 --> 00:14:32.639 didn't it? Spectacularly. By trying to intimidate 00:14:32.639 --> 00:14:34.980 France, Germany proved exactly why France and 00:14:34.980 --> 00:14:37.169 Britain needed each other. Instead of breaking 00:14:37.169 --> 00:14:39.769 the Entente, the Moroccan crisis terrified both 00:14:39.769 --> 00:14:42.590 nations so much that it triggered actual secret 00:14:42.590 --> 00:14:44.970 military discussions between the French and British 00:14:44.970 --> 00:14:47.490 general staffs. The exact thing Germany was afraid 00:14:47.490 --> 00:14:51.309 of. Yes. It forged the Franco -British solidarity 00:14:51.309 --> 00:14:53.350 that was later confirmed at the Al Jazeera's 00:14:53.350 --> 00:14:56.350 conference in 1906 and reconfirmed again during 00:14:56.350 --> 00:14:59.419 the second Moroccan crisis in 1911. So an agreement 00:14:59.419 --> 00:15:01.759 that started out as just a cynical resolution 00:15:01.759 --> 00:15:04.320 of colonial borders and fishing rights evolved 00:15:04.320 --> 00:15:07.299 under intense German pressure into the hardened 00:15:07.299 --> 00:15:09.299 military bond that would eventually carry them 00:15:09.299 --> 00:15:12.379 into World War I. That is incredible. A classic 00:15:12.379 --> 00:15:15.019 case of unintended consequences. And, you know, 00:15:15.019 --> 00:15:17.940 we can actually see the echoes of this 1904 document 00:15:17.940 --> 00:15:20.419 in our world today. It still impacts culture 00:15:20.419 --> 00:15:22.860 and diplomacy. When we look at the source text 00:15:22.860 --> 00:15:25.440 section on modern commemorations, they are massive. 00:15:25.740 --> 00:15:28.000 They treat it like a cornerstone of modern European 00:15:28.000 --> 00:15:31.399 history. For the 100th anniversary in 2004, there 00:15:31.399 --> 00:15:33.419 was a state visit to France by Queen Elizabeth 00:15:33.419 --> 00:15:36.740 II and a return visit to the UK by French President 00:15:36.740 --> 00:15:39.419 Jacques Chirac. That is a big deal. It is, and 00:15:39.419 --> 00:15:42.080 for the first time ever, British troops, including 00:15:42.080 --> 00:15:44.080 the band of the Royal Marines and the Grenadier 00:15:44.080 --> 00:15:47.340 Guards, led the Bastille Day Parade in Paris, 00:15:47.779 --> 00:15:49.759 complete with the Red Arrows flying overhead. 00:15:50.360 --> 00:15:53.559 And the legacy continues. Even in April 2024, 00:15:53.960 --> 00:15:57.039 to commemorate the 120th anniversary, France's 00:15:57.039 --> 00:15:58.799 Guard Republicaine took part in the changing 00:15:58.799 --> 00:16:01.450 of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. But the relationship 00:16:01.450 --> 00:16:04.169 still has its funny, petty moments, which makes 00:16:04.169 --> 00:16:07.730 it feel so authentically human. Our source notes 00:16:07.730 --> 00:16:11.639 a hilarious anecdote from 1998. A French politician 00:16:11.639 --> 00:16:14.519 named Florent Longbay actually wrote a formal 00:16:14.519 --> 00:16:17.179 letter to British Prime Minister Tony Blair demanding 00:16:17.179 --> 00:16:19.399 that they change the name of London's Waterloo 00:16:19.399 --> 00:16:21.500 Station. Because Waterloo was the battle that 00:16:21.500 --> 00:16:23.820 finally defeated Napoleon. Exactly. Waterloo 00:16:23.820 --> 00:16:26.159 Station was the destination terminus for trains 00:16:26.159 --> 00:16:29.259 arriving from Paris via the Eurostar. Longbay 00:16:29.259 --> 00:16:31.519 felt the name was a literal insult to French 00:16:31.519 --> 00:16:34.059 visitors stepping off the train in London. It's 00:16:34.059 --> 00:16:36.120 like, welcome to Britain. Remember when we crushed 00:16:36.120 --> 00:16:38.639 your greatest emperor. It perfectly illustrates 00:16:38.639 --> 00:16:44.470 that even with a Bleyer didn't change the name, 00:16:44.529 --> 00:16:47.529 of course, though in 2007 the Eurostar terminal 00:16:47.529 --> 00:16:49.950 did eventually move to St. Pancras International. 00:16:50.210 --> 00:16:52.850 Probably for the best. But beyond the parades 00:16:52.850 --> 00:16:55.950 and the station names, there is a very real, 00:16:56.070 --> 00:16:59.570 very positive modern legacy to this treaty. In 00:16:59.570 --> 00:17:03.409 1995, British Prime Minister John Major and French 00:17:03.409 --> 00:17:06.349 President Jacques Chirac set up the Entente Cordiale 00:17:06.349 --> 00:17:09.130 Scholarships. That's a great initiative. This 00:17:09.130 --> 00:17:11.430 scheme provides private and foundation funding 00:17:11.430 --> 00:17:13.930 for British and French students to study for 00:17:13.930 --> 00:17:16.349 an academic year on the opposite side of the 00:17:16.349 --> 00:17:19.269 channel. The goal is to foster mutual understanding 00:17:19.269 --> 00:17:22.210 between the leaders of tomorrow. It proves that 00:17:22.210 --> 00:17:24.630 this pragmatic agreement evolved into a lasting 00:17:24.630 --> 00:17:27.509 educational and cultural legacy. So what does 00:17:27.509 --> 00:17:29.589 this all mean? If we step back and look at the 00:17:29.589 --> 00:17:31.930 deep dive we've just taken into this source material, 00:17:32.089 --> 00:17:35.670 we see a remarkable story. Two historical enemies, 00:17:36.089 --> 00:17:37.990 locked in almost a thousand years of intermittent 00:17:37.990 --> 00:17:40.609 conflict, formally ended their strife. And they 00:17:40.609 --> 00:17:42.890 didn't do it by hugging it out over shared ideals. 00:17:43.170 --> 00:17:46.269 Not at all. They avoided a massive, immediate 00:17:46.269 --> 00:17:49.109 war by sitting down, looking at a map, and trading 00:17:49.109 --> 00:17:51.819 practical interests. They swapped a town in West 00:17:51.819 --> 00:17:54.299 Africa for fishing rights in Newfoundland. They 00:17:54.299 --> 00:17:57.019 drew lines through Siam. They formalized the 00:17:57.019 --> 00:17:59.059 borders of their empire so they wouldn't accidentally 00:17:59.059 --> 00:18:00.859 shoot each other while worrying about Germany. 00:18:01.339 --> 00:18:03.539 And for you listening, I think it raises a fascinating 00:18:03.539 --> 00:18:06.619 question about how international relations actually 00:18:06.619 --> 00:18:09.940 function. We often assume that history turns 00:18:09.940 --> 00:18:13.119 on rigid, legally binding military contracts. 00:18:13.900 --> 00:18:15.880 But the Entente Cordiale wasn't an alliance. 00:18:16.099 --> 00:18:18.960 It was... as Eric Crowe famously noted, just 00:18:18.960 --> 00:18:21.779 a frame of mind. A powerful frame of mind. Exactly. 00:18:22.319 --> 00:18:25.019 I encourage you to consider how sometimes a shared 00:18:25.019 --> 00:18:27.849 view of general policy A mutual understanding 00:18:27.849 --> 00:18:30.329 born out of shared anxieties can actually become 00:18:30.329 --> 00:18:32.710 more powerful than a formal treaty, especially 00:18:32.710 --> 00:18:34.869 when it is tested and pressured by an outside 00:18:34.869 --> 00:18:37.049 force. That is such a great point. And it leads 00:18:37.049 --> 00:18:39.730 me to one final provocative thought for you to 00:18:39.730 --> 00:18:41.789 mull over as you go about your day. The Entente 00:18:41.789 --> 00:18:44.250 Cordiale successfully prevented a colonial war 00:18:44.250 --> 00:18:47.009 between Britain and France in 1904 by dividing 00:18:47.009 --> 00:18:49.930 up global territories. It solved the immediate 00:18:49.930 --> 00:18:53.349 crisis. But at what cost? Right. By officially 00:18:53.349 --> 00:18:55.990 ending Britain's isolation and carving up Europe 00:18:56.039 --> 00:18:58.980 in the world into two massive, increasingly unshakable 00:18:58.980 --> 00:19:01.619 teams, did they ultimately make the devastation 00:19:01.619 --> 00:19:04.539 of World War I inevitable? When they shook hands 00:19:04.539 --> 00:19:07.420 over Egypt and Morocco, were they truly securing 00:19:07.420 --> 00:19:09.640 long -term peace, or were they simply choosing 00:19:09.640 --> 00:19:11.460 their partners for the deadliest dance in human 00:19:11.460 --> 00:19:13.799 history? Something to think about. Thank you 00:19:13.799 --> 00:19:15.839 for joining us on this deep dive. And as always, 00:19:16.119 --> 00:19:18.339 keep questioning the history behind the headlines.