Manchuria and Abysinnia

Question 0

Why did japan invade Manchuria?

Answer 0

Due to the Great Depression, japan wanted to build and empire to secure supplies of raw materials

Question 1

What gave japan the chance to invade Manchuria?

Answer 1

The nationalist government of China was weak, corrupt and busy fighting communists

Question 2

Who controlled the Japanese government?

Answer 2

The army

Question 3

What did japan run in china?

Answer 3

The manchurian railway, and they ruled on Korea

Question 4

What happened to the manchurian railway in September 1931?

Answer 4

It was vandalised.

Japan claimed that China had done the damage.

Question 5

What did japan do when they had invaded china?

Answer 5

They set up the ‘inderpendent’ state of Manchukou under the former emperor of china Henry P’ui.

Question 6

What did the league do when China asked for their help against japan?

Answer 6

• December 1931: the league appointed a commission led by lord Lytton from Britain to investigate
• April 1932: Lytton went to Manchuria
• October 1932: Lytton’s report was published, it stated that Japan was the aggressor, and should leave
• 24 February 1933: the assembly voted that japan should leave Manchuria, Japan walked out of the meeting
• Japan stayed in Manchuria
• the league could not agree sanctions
• in 1933 japan left the league and invaded Jehol
• in 1937 japan invaded the rest of china

Question 7

Why did the League of Nations not still japan when they invaded Manchuria!

Answer 7

• None of the members wanted to go to war with Japan
• Britain didn’t want to disrupt trade with Asia by taking action against Japan
• economic sanctions would not have worked as Japan’s main trading partner was the USA

Question 8

What did the Manchurian crisis say about the League of Nations?

Answer 8

• it was slow
• a country could get its own way if it ignored the league.
• even the great powers were happy to ignore the League
• economic sanctions were ineffective
• Britain and France used the excuse that Japan was too far away to deal with

Question 9

What was Abysinnia?

Answer 9

An independent African nation, rich in raw materials

Question 10

What happened in October 1935 to Abyssinia?

Answer 10

Italy invaded

Question 11

Why did Italy invade Abysinnia?

Answer 11

• the Italian dictator Mussolini wanted to expand Italy’s empire in Africa.
• Abysinnia (ethiopia) was one of the few countries not under European rule.

Question 12

What happened when Italy invaded Abysinnia?

Answer 12

• after a clash between Italian and Abysinnian troops Italy invaded the country
• the Italians quickly conquered the country using their modern weapons.
• the Abyssinian Emperor, Haile Selassie, appealed to the League for help.

Question 13

What did the League of Nations do when Abyssinian government appealed to them?

Answer 13

• They declared Italy’s actions as unprovoked aggression
• they imposed economic sanctions on Italy
• they banned the sale of weapons, some goods and loans to Italy
• they banned all imports from Italy
• the sanctions failed to stop Italy from conquering the whole of Abyssinia

Question 14

Why did the League of Nations not stop Italy when they invaded Abysinnia?

Answer 14

• Britain and France saw Italy as allies against Germany
• the economic sanctions did not include oil for fear the USA wouldn’t co-operate
• the British and French did not close the Suez Canal, which supplied Italy most of its military supplies.
• the British and French agreed to the Hoare-Laval pact

Question 15

What was the Hoare-Laval pact?

Answer 15

• Britain and France secretly offered to divide Abyssinia giving Italy it’s best mineral and agricultural land without informing the Abyssinian government.
• the secret plan was leaked to the press and the popular outcry that followed led to it being abandoned
• it showed that Britain and France were willing to appease dictators to avoid war