ome, although both Germany and Britain had shown willingness to cooperate, trying to prevent war, and to make peace. This definitely showed hope as two hostile countries tried to reach an agreement. Forced into trouble in the Balkans, the nations desperately tried to keep peace, unsuccessfully. These countries also had a lot of colonies, mostly in Africa. As they were also competing to get the greatest amount of territory there, they often crossed each other, causing several problems. The French had most of western Africa as well as Madagascar and the northern part of Somaliland; where-as the British mostly had the southern, and eastern parts of Africa, and Nigeria, Gold Coast, Sierra Leone, and the southern part of Somaliland. Germany also had a few territories, both some south of what is now Kenya, Togo, Cameroon, and a small chunk of southern Africa. Belgium, Italy, Portugal, and Spain also had parts of Africa, but they were not as significant as those of the other nations (even though Belgium had a large amount of territory compared to the size of their own country). (Ross 14). When Britain and France signed the Entent Cordinale in 1904, they agreed to settle their colonial disputes. (Ross 32). This Entent Cordinale became an immense problem for England, as they could not be friendly with Germany as well. Lord Haldane visited Germany early in 1912 to try to reach an agreement, but came back empty handed. (Ross 33) The Ottoman Empire was under a lot of stress even though it was no longer a leading power. It used to reach from Vienna to southern Arabia, but had lost a lot of its strength over time....
