Diplomatic threats faced an assembled fleet that made war's material reality hard to ignore. Roughly twenty pre-dreadnought battleships, supported by other warships, arrived between the evening warning from the conference and the following dawn. Dinner invitations and ceremonial hospitality turned the display into a controlled diplomatic encounter rather than an immediate fight. Timing, readiness, and presentation made the demonstration effective.
Notable Point · 1:22:36-1:25:24
The Algeciras fleet demonstration
The sudden appearance of a large, ready British fleet near Algeciras made British support for France tangible and changed the tone of the conference.