Conflict and Tension (The League of Nations) Flashcards
Key points on Creation of League
- The League was based on the Fourteen points of Woodrow Wilson
- The League was an attempt to create A international organisation that would be able to prevent wars in the future
- Leauge adopted principle of ‘Colective security’
Membership of the Leauge
- Membership allowed to anyone given they sign the covenant of the Leauge
- However, Germany and Russia could not join - Banning two of the most important countries in the world
- They both Joined later, Germany in 1926 and USSR, in 1934
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The structure and organization of the Leauge
- The council met 3 times a year. Four permanent members, Britan, France, Italy and Japan. (Germany joining in 1926 becoming the fifth
- The assembly had representees of all the members and they met once a year
- Decisions in the council and Assembly had to be unanimous
- The permanent Court of Justice was set up in the Hague to settle disputes between countries, but both sides had to agree to take a dispute to the Court; so many issues never reached it.
- The council of Ambassadors often took decisions, because the Council and Assembly only met occasionally
- Covenant was agreement all members had to sign agreeing to not use force to settle a disagreement with another country
How would the League punish countries
League could use Three types of sanctions
- Moral sanctions
- Economic sanctions - Banning trade
- Military Sanctions - meant declaration of war by each member
Successes of the League
- good work on stamping out slave trade and tackling diseases
- In 1920’s league had support of most major countries and was successful in settling minor disputes
- It took charge of returning refugees and prisoners of war safely back to own countries. After great war 400,000 were returned safely
- The ILO (International Labour Organisation) set hours of work and tried to establish trade union rights on an international basis
- Mandates Commission was responsible for looking after former German colonies
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Leagues territorial success between
Aaland Islands
- The League was successful in the 1920’s in settling disputes between countries like Finland and Sweden over the Aaland Islands
- Island both claimed by Sweden and Finland. In 1920 league gave them to Finland but Swedish people of the island were given protected minority status
- Border disputes between Germany and Poland about Upper Silesia, And Albania and Yugoslavia and Hungary and Czechoslovakia settled in 1921 and 1922
- Greece and Bulgaria 1925
Greece invaded Bulgaria, Bulgaria than appealed to league.
Council of League took prompt action and made Greece pay compensation
Minor Territorial Failures of the League
- League was unable to resolve the issue of the Greek - Turkish conflicts (1920 - 1921)
- It was unable to prevent Poland from seizing Vilna from Lithuania
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League failures between Italy
- Italy a leading power broke the covenant in 1923 over Corfu
- An Italian general was murdered while working on border issues with Greece and Albania
- Italian dictator Benito Mussolini demanded immediate compensation of 50 million lire
- Greeks refused to pay, and Mussolini ordered bombardment of and occupation of the Greek Island of Corfu
- Greece appealed to league
- Council favoured Italy
- Compensation was paid and Italy withdrew. Shows smaller nations were at mercy of larger ones
Problems faced by the League
- Russia was not allowed to join after the Communist Revolution in 1917. Germany was not allowed to join but became a member in 1926
- USA did not join despite being Woodrow Wilsons idea. Congress voted against it
+ USA would have not made difference since weak between 1920 and 1930 - seen as club for victors of WW1, and was mostly European (headquarter Geneva)
- League had no army so had to rely on member countries declaring war which broke the covenant
Diplomacy outside of League
Often the great powers acted without consent of the league. The Locarno Pacts and the Kellog-Briand Pact were both arranged without the Leagues involvement
The Council and assembly met very rarely, consequently, decisions were often taken by the council of Ambassadors; this allowed Britian and France to dominate the League
Support for League in terms of membership varied. many countries came and went and South America had little impact
How far did weakness in the League make failure inevitable
- Corfu incident showed that major powers would break the covenant when suited them + Britan and France would compromised when it suited them
- Lack of army meant that military sanctions were virtually impossible
- League being centred in Europe meant disputes far away would not be solved and most countries in Europe
- Absence of USA and Soviet Union weaken League
- Great Depression in 1929 was major primary issue
How did the Depression affect the League
- It destroyed the relative prosperity of the 1920’s. In Germany it wiped out the recovery that too place in 1924
- Massive unemployment and poverty caused by the League, created desperation and despair in countries
- Lead to increase support for extremist parties, who used violence and adopted aggressive policies
- Militarism became more influential in Japan, Italy, and Germany
Why did Japan invade Manchuria
- Rise in Militarism in 1920-1920
- Japan failed to gain land in ToV
- Growing Population, Japan needed more Land and Materials
- Japan’s silk exports fell by Great depression
- Manchuria had vast coal and iron which Japan lacked
Why could the League do nothing about Manchuria
- No army
- Very far away
- little sympathy for China and support for Japan (seen as bringing law and order)
Japan’s “Reasons” for invading Manchuria
- In 1931, Japan invaded Manchuria claiming it was self defence
- It claimed that a railway had been blown up at Mukden on 18th of September
- In 1932 Japan set up puppet state of Mukden, with last emperor of China P’u-i as its head
How did League react to Manchuria
- League set up Commission of Inquiry under Earl of Lytton to investigate
- In October he reported no evidence that Japanese had acted in self-defence and recommended that Manchuria should be autonomous region under Chinese control
- Japanese ignored report and Resigned in 1933
- Major blow to league since failed to act and Permanent member of League left
How did the leagues actions about Manchuria have on Japan
- Failure to condemn lead to government falling under control of army
- Politicians who stood up against army killed
- in July 1937 Japan invaded Northen China
- Later lead to Rape of Nanking and more imperialism
The Italian conquest of Abyssinia date
- October 3rd 1935 Italy invaded Abyssinia
- Faced heavy opposition so used plosion gas and Planes
Causes of Abysina
- Musolini tried to increase value of the Lira making exports more expensive
- Italy suffered badly from the Great depression and Mussolini was becoming unpopular. His soultion was to have a agressive forign policy
- Italy had been denied teriotry in the balkans in 1919, so his solution was to begin a agressive forign policy
Why was the invasion of Abyssinia so important
Italy was a Permanent member of the Council of the League of Nations. The invasion delibratly broke the Covenant and severly weakened the authority of the league.
How did the League react to the Invasion of Abysinnia
- Sanctions were applied to Italy - but not oil (which Mussolini later admitted was the one thing which would force him to withdraw.
- A speech by Haile Selassie adressed to the LoN which did nothing
Why did the League not take effective action in Abysinnia
- 1935, Britian and France tried to arange a compremise solution to the crisis the Hoare-Laval Pact This would have given Mussolini to retain control of most of Abysinia
- Pact dropped as a result of hostile public opinon.
- This and the refusal to add oil to the sanctions made Britian and France and the League seem Weak.
- Britian and Italy were allarmed at events in Germany and wanted to keep Mussolini on his side
- Three nations already formed stresa front, and they did not want Italy to Withdraw.
-Did not want Italy to withdraw from League
- Britans and Frances actions had massive harm to the League’s reputation
Why did the League fail over Manchuria and Abyssinia
- Both countries invaded by major powers, who were pernament members
- If pernament members broke covenent their seemed to be little point in keeping the League
- Both invasions were in remote areas: being costly military campains
- In Manchuria the Lytton Commission took nine mounths to make a report acting very slow
- In the case of Abyssinia Britian and France tried to deal with Mussolini in the Hoarse-Laval pact,
- When became public moral authority of League disappeared
-Britian and france tried to Mussolni on their side by preventing oul being added to sanctions.
- Britian refused to close the suez canal that could of paralized Italy
