L of N : Abyssinian crisis 1935-36
background
mussolini wanted an Italian empire
1928 signed a treaty of friendship with abyssinia, a neighbour to its colonies Eritrea and Somaliland
signed the Locarno treaty and the Kellog-Briand pact, promising to solve disputes non violently
defended austria from an attempted German takeover in 1934
Causes
The depression made Italy weak, so they looked abroad for materials to trade, such as coal and iron.
Abyssinia was the obvious choice due to its close proximity to Eritrea and Somaliland
it also had lots of natural resources such as coal and oil and fertile land
It was also undeveloped and there were rumours of cannibalsm spreading, meaning that it was open for colonisation
a skirmish on the Somali border led to an invasion in October 1935
Events
With the Abyssinian army no match for the modern Italian army, by may 1936 Mussolini had reached the capital, Addis Adaba
the Abyssinian emperor went to the league for help, and the invasion met the conditions for help from the league
The league set up a committee to decide what sanctions should be imposed, the result was the banning of all trade and lans wit Italy, and a banning of the sale of weapons
success of their intervention
both Britain and France wanted a strong Italy to be another force against Germany, so only agreed to impose lesser sanctions, such as not banning coal sales (it would damage a vital British industry). France controlled the Suez Canal, but refused to close it. They also could have sent in troops due to it being in the close proximity of their colonies
both Britain and France tried to stop the war when the sanctions stopped being effective, by dividing the country. This was known as the Hoare Laval plan
Italy got 2/3 of it
Abyssinia got the rest of it
this was the fertile and raw material rich portion
THsi never actually happened because it was leaked to the press and provoked an outcry from the public about the isstreatment of the Abyssinian people
showed they were only interested in maintaining good relations, rather than the welfare of the people
Significance for the league and the world
ignored as a peacekeeping force from now onwards after this failure
German were able to march into the Rhineland while this was happening
encouraged expansionist policies in europe and abroad