The Abyssinia Crisis 1935 THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS

The Abyssinia Crisis, 1935 THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS IN THE 1930 S II

The Abyssinian Crisis Abyssinia is modern Ethiopia. It is in Africa, near Egypt and the Sudan. Like Manchuria, Abyssinia is rich in natural resources. Italy—a relatively new country without an empire like the British or the French—had been determined to gain control of Abyssinia since the 1890 s. Her opportunity came in 1934 when Italian soldiers clashed with some Abyssinian soldiers at Wal, an oasis, on the border between Abyssinia and Somaliland. The Italians were intent on war believing that the Lo. N was too weak to stop them and that the British and French had no desire to intervene. They had good reason to believe this: 1. The Italians had been successful against Greece in the Corfu Incident of 1923. 2. The Manchurian Crisis, 1931 -2 had revealed how weak the Lo. N was. 3. The British and the French had signed the Stresa Pact with Italy in 1935. This was an alliance aimed at strengthening the ties between Italy and the British and French in the face of a growing threat from Hitler. Mussolini believed that the British and the French would be reluctant to interfere in his Abyssinian adventure for fear of breaking this alliance.

The Abyssinian Crisis In October 1935 the Italian army invaded Abyssinia. They used a barrage of modern weapons, such as tanks and aircraft. The Abyssinians were no match for them. The duty of the Lo. N was clear: Italy must be punished. Sanctions were imposed on Italy—arms sales to Italy were banned as were loans. In addition, Italian imports were banned as well as Italian exports of rubber, tin and metals. However, oil exports were not banned because the USA (not a member of the Lo. N) would continue to trade with Italy. Nor were exports of coal. This was crucial. The reason was that it would have led to the loss of 30, 000 British coal mining jobs. Similarly, the Suez Canal—the main shipping route from Italy to Abyssinia— remained open. The Canal was jointly owned by the British and the French. Italy simply could not have carried out its invasion if the Canal had been closed. But—the British and the French were not willing to risk provoking Mussolini into war. It is clear from this that the British and the French were not willing to support the Lo. N where it really counted and were set on putting their own interests first. This was confirmed when the Hoare-Laval Pact became public. This was a plan cooked up by the British and French foreign ministers which aimed to divide Abyssinia, giving Italy 2/3 of the most resource-rich land. The plan was never carried out because Italy continued with its invasion and took the whole of Abyssinia. By May 1936 the event was over when the Italians took possession of Addis Ababa, the capital city of Abyssinia. Haille Selassie

The Abyssinian Crisis In June 1936 Haile Selassie, the Emperor of Abyssinia, made a speech to the Lo. N in Geneva. He condemned the Lo. N for failing to deal with Italian aggression. For many, this marks the death of the Lo. N. Haille Selassie

Why is the Abyssinian Crisis significant? It illustrates many of the same failings as the Manchurian Crisis: it could not tackle aggression by major powers, it did not have its own army and economic sanctions would not be effective without the co-operation of the USA. It also illustrates how the British and French were more concerned with their own interests than supporting the Lo. N. It is no accident that Hitler took one of his most important steps towards overturning To. V as the Abyssinian Crisis was unfolding: the re-militarisation of the Rhineland took place on 7 March 1936. In November 1936 Italy and Germany allied with the Rome-Berlin Axis.

The end of the league of nations In March 1936 Hitler marched German troops into the Rhineland, directly challenging the Treaty of Versailles. The League did nothing. Why did the League of Nations fail? • Absence of the USA • Context of the Depression • Rise of Dictatorships in Italy, Japan and Germany • Absence of real powers • Reluctance of Britain and France to support the League.