The Abyssinian Crisis and Consequences - Conflict and Tension

Question 1

when was the Abyssinian Crisis?

Answer 1

1935-36

Question 2

causes of the Abyssinian Crisis?

Answer 2

• Italy suffered during the Great Depression, on top of the financial problems from WW1
• it was only a young country (united in 1861) with no large modern empire
• Mussolini had ruled since 1922 and wanted to increase Italy’s prestige as a new world power by increasing its territories in Africa
• in the 1880s, many European powers rushed to colonise areas of Africa - including Italy, however as Italy was only a young country they only secured minor territory in Eritrea and Somaliland (and Libya after 1911)
• in 1896, Italy attempted to colonise Abyssinia and failed - they wanted revenge for this
• Abyssinia was one of the few countries in Africa that was not in European control
• Abyssinia contained good natural resources
• Abyssinia was the only African nation to have defeated the colonisers
• events in Corfu and Manchuria, had given Italy the confidence that the LON would not intervene if Italy invaded
• in 1935, Britain and France had sought Italy’s help to counterbalance Hitler in the Stresa Front - he thought they wouldn’t want to risk their new agreement

Question 3

what happened in December 1934?

Answer 3

Italian and Abyssinian troops clashed at the Wal Wal oasis in a disputed border area between Abyssinia and Italian Somaliland

Question 4

what other events happened after the Italian and Abyssinian troops clashed?

Answer 4

• the French foreign minister Pierre Laval made a secret deal with Mussolini allowing him to deal with the situation as he liked
• the Emperor of Abyssinia, Haile Selassie appealed to the League for assistance in June 1935
• in October 1935, Italian troops invaded Abyssinia - the Italians had chemical and modern weapons - the Abyssinians were poorly equipped

Question 5

how did the League respond to the Italian aggression?

Answer 5

• they condemned Italian aggression and imposed economic sanctions against Italy
• but, these sanctions did not include steel, coal or oil so Mussolini allowing him to deal with the situation as he liked without any French interference
• France and Britain did not want to offend Mussolini and drive him closer to Hitler and Germany - they did not close Suez Cana, if they had Italy would not have been able to move troops easily from Italy to Abyssinia
• the League did ban the sale of arms to Abyssinia, which left them defenceless
• in December 1935 the British foreign secretary even worked out a plan with the French, known as the Hoare-Laval Pact, to offer Mussolini most of Abyssinia
• the plan had to be withdrawn when it was leaked to public

Question 6

when did Hitler invade the Rhineland?

Answer 6

March 1936
- France was now more worried about Hitler and feared that Italy would be allies with Germany if the League took any more action over Abyssinia

Question 7

when did Italy capture the capital city Addis Ababa?

Answer 7

May 1936

Question 8

when did Italy leave the LON?

Answer 8

1937

Question 9

what was the significance of the Abyssinian Crisis for the LON?

Answer 9

• it became clear that if a strong nation was prepared to ignore the League, the League could do nothing about it
• the League’s delays and slowness made it look scared
• sanctions were showed to be useless
• everybody realised that Britain and France were not prepared to use force
• the four major powers - Japan, Italy, Britain and France - all betrayed the League
• smaller nations realised that the League could not and would not protect them
• Britain and France decided that the League was useful to stop war, and instead follow the policy of appeasement
• Hitler was encouraged to move ahead with his plans

Question 10

how did the League fail to avert war in 1939?

Answer 10

• France and British self-interest - they looked after their own interests rather than the League’s
• absent powers - key countries such as the USA were not in the League and others were able the leave
• ineffective sanctions - that either weren’t used or didn’t work
• lack of armed - the League has no troops of its own
• unfair treaty - the League’s job was to enforce treaties that some members thought were unfair
• reaching decisions too slowly - the League was very slow to act which made it ineffective
• economic depression which had led some countries to turn to extreme and aggression governments (and too many of them to handle at once) and meant others did not want to risk the financial cost of opposing them