League of Nations

Question 1

What was “Article 10”?

Answer 1

collective security

Question 2

What were the Aims of the League?

Answer 2

• discourage aggression
• encourage international cooperation (especially economic)
• disarmament
• improve living & working conditions
• uphold Treaty of Versailles.

Question 3

How did the League deal with international disputes?

Answer 3

• moral condemnation
• economic sanctions
• military force
• there was no League of Nations army.

Question 4

What was the council?

Answer 4

• Smaller group than the assembly, which met more often (5 times a year and in emergencies)
• Made up of permanent members; Britain, France, Italy and Japan in 1920 and temporary members elected by the assembly for 3 year periods.
• Each permanent member had a veto
• Main idea was that if any member states had any disputes, they could be brought to the council

Question 5

What was the Assembly?

Answer 5

• The League’s parliament; every country sent a representative to the assembly
• The assembly voted on: adding new members to the League, appointing temporary members to the council, the budget of the League, other ideas put forward by the council
• Decisions were unanimous

Question 6

What was the permanent Court of International Justice?

Answer 6

• Meant to play a key role in settling disputes
• Based in Hague in the Netherlands
• It gave legal advise to the Assembly or Council
• However, the court had no wat of making sure that countries followed its rulings

Question 7

What was the Secretariat?

Answer 7

• A sort of civil service
• Kept records of League meetings and prepared reports for the different agencies of the League
• Contained specialist sections covering health, disarmament and economic matters

Question 8

What was the International Labour Organisation (ILO)?

Answer 8

• ILO brought together employers, governments and workers’ representatives once a year
• The aim was to improve working conditions across the world
• It collected statistics and information about working conditions and it tried to persuade member countries to adopt its suggestions.

Question 9

What was the role of the Mandates Commission?

Answer 9

• Ensured that League countries were ruling their colonies properly
• Administered League controlled areas such as the Saar and Danzig

Question 10

What was the role of the Refugees Committee

Answer 10

• To help refugees and disaster victims

Question 11

What was the role of the Slavery Commission

Answer 11

• To abolish slavery

Question 12

What was the role of the Health Committee?

Answer 12

• To improve public health world-wide

Question 13

What does ‘unanimous’ mean

Answer 13

• All countries must be in agreement before a decision can be made

Question 14

What were the successes of the League in peacekeeping during the 1920s?

Answer 14

• Aaland Islands 1921
• Upper Silesia 1921
• Bulgaria 1925

Question 15

What were the failures of the League in peacekeeping during the 1920s?

Answer 15

• Vilna 1920

* Corfu 1923

Question 16

Name a success of each commission/committee

Answer 16

• Health: defeat of leprosy, starts global campaign against malaria
• Refugee: Bulgarian refugee settlement 1926, Greek refugee settlement 1924-1929
• Working conditions: ILO banning of poisonous white lead from paint

Question 17

What impacts did the World Depression have on the League after 1929?

Answer 17

• Lack of support for economic sanctions from major powers, as it could damage their economies
• Rise of extremism (esp. Nazis in Germany) and in turn militarism
• Aggressive foreign policy, such as Japan in Manchuria

Question 18

What were the reasons for the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931?

Answer 18

• Economic crisis
• Rise of militarism
• Need for raw materials
• Rising population

Question 19

Describe the key events of the invasion of Manchuria

Answer 19

• Mukden rail incident
• Puppet state of Manchukuo established under last Chinese Emperor, Pu-Yi
• Shanghai bombed

Question 20

What actions did the League take following the Manchurian crisis?

Answer 20

• Lord Lytton was sent to survey the situation and reported that Japan should withdraw
• Approved by the League 42 votes to 1
• Japan leaves the League and attacks Jehol
• Major failure

Question 21

What were the reasons for failure in the Manchurian crisis?

Answer 21

• Sanctions weren’t adopted by member states
• USA & USSR weren’t members so they continued to trade with Japan
• Lytton took a whole year to report the incident
• Britain and France were fearful of provoking a full-scale war

Question 22

What were the reasons for the Italian invasion of Abyssinia in 1935?

Answer 22

• Economic crisis
• Mussolini wanted to prove himself as a military leader
• Revenge for 1896 Italian defeat
• Only state in Africa left to be colonised

Question 23

Describe the key events of the invasion of Abyssinia

Answer 23

• Modern Italian army that used planes, tanks and poison gas against ill-equipped Abyssinians
• Italian victory in May 1936

Question 24

What actions did the League take following the Abyssinian crisis?

Answer 24

• Fears of breaking the Stresa Pact but some condemnation after public outcry
• Slow to put limited sanctions on Italy (rubber, tin & metals) no ban on oil
• British failure to close Suez Canal
• Hoare-Laval plan to give large parts of Abyssinia to Italy

Question 25

What were the reasons for failure in the Abyssinian crisis?

Answer 25

• Economic self interest in the League members imposing sanctions
• USA would not be bound by a trade ban
• Fears of pushing Mussolini towards Hitler

Question 26

What are the points of comparison between the reasons for failure of the League in the 1930s?

Answer 26

• Self interest of leading powers
• Absence of USA & USSR
• Ineffective sanctions
• No League army
• Slow to reach decisions