In 1898, a Franco-British war was very close to break out when a French column led by captain Marchand met British forces at Fashoda, in Sudan. The clash of imperialisms was seemingly unavoidable. Nevertheless, six years later, the crisis had been overcome and an alliance, the “Entente Cordiale” was instated. In 1908, a Franco-British exhibition in London demonstrated the new friendship between the two democracies. On both sides, the rise of German military power had been a great incentive towards a settlement of the colonial disputes.