The Abyssinian Crisis

By Katy and Emma :)

Why did Italy invade Abyssinian?
In December 1934, there was a
massive argument about the border
between Abyssinian and Italian
Somaliland. This then turned into
fighting.

January 1935, Haile selassie the

emperor of Abyssinian asked the
league to negotiate terms between
Abyssinian and Italy.

July 1935, the league decided to

prevent each country from buying
weapons.
What was Britain and France's role in crisis?

Britain and France thought that Italy should have part of the
country because they did. But when Italy invaded Abyssinian
they refused to get involved. After the fighting in December
1935, news leaked out about the 'Hoare-Laval Pact'. The pact
was between the foreign secretary of Britain and teh French
prime minister to give Abyssinian to Italy.
How did the league respond to Italy's invasion?

In October 1935, the league suggested that Italy should have some
land in Abyssinian. This wasn't good enough for Italy so instead
100,000 of there strong army invaded Abyssinian. The italien troops
used posion gas and attacked red cross hospials. The league did
nothing. After the Hoare-Laval Pact,
 What was the outcome of the
Abyssinian crisis?
The outcome of the Abyssinian Crisis was that the league of
nation was too weak. Also that when Italy invaded Abyssinia
they had pre-war equipment like;
• rifles
• armoured vehicles
• They even resolved to used mustered gas in there attacks
In may 1936 the capital Addis Ababa become powerless this
lead to Haile Selassie benign removed from the throne and
replaced by the king of Italy Victor Emmanuel. Who fled to
Geneva were he made a speech that lasted three-quarters of
an hour.
 What effect did the crisis have on the
reputation of the League?
The reputation of the league was undermined due to
foreign minister Lava of france and the British foreign secretary
Samuel Hoare. Lava and Hoare met up in December 1935 to
discuss a plan of action to put a stop to the invasion of
Abyssinia going ahead.
They proposed to split up Abyssinia meaning that Italy would
get the most fertile land. This meant that the natives would only
be left with the mountainous area with only a small strip on land
to give access to the red sea.
This left the league felling powerless when Britain and France
took no immediate action as Lava and Hoare was forced to
resign.
The deposed leader of Abyssinia fled to Geneva where he
made a speech that lasted three-quarters of an hour.
The deposed leader of Abyssinia fled to Geneva where he
made a speech to the league of Nation that lasted three-
quarters of an hour. He summarised the events of the war and
protested against the failure of the league of Nations. This was
the final insult to the league of Nations and it no longer held
power as an international organisation.
From this time on no one took them seriously and this quickly
lead to World War 2.