WORLD HISTORY: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS BETWEEN 1919-33 – Part 4
ITALIAN INVASION OF ABYSSINIA (ETHIOPIA) IN 1935
- Ethiopia was the only remaining independent state left in Africa.
- Italy’s involvement in Ethiopia went back to 1896 when an Italian attempt to colonize it had failed.
- Mussolini wanted to invade Ethiopia for the following reasons:
- Italy’s existing colonies in East Africa were not very rewarding.
- Italy was suffering from the depression, and a victorious war would divert attention from internal troubles.
- It would provide a new market for Italian exports.
- It would please the nationalists and colonialists, avenge the defeat of 1896 and boost Mussolini’s sagging popularity.
- Impact of Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia
- It demonstrated the ineffectiveness of collective security proposed by the League of Nations.
- The League applied only half -hearted economic sanction on Italy which diminished its credibility.
- League’s prestige suffered a further blow when Britain made a secret deal with France to hand over large section of Abyssinia to Italy.
- Mussolini, annoyed by the sanctions, began to get closer to Hitler who had not criticized the invasion.
