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60-680: The Abyssinia Crisis , also known in Italy as the Walwal incident , was an international crisis in 1935 that originated in a dispute over the town of Walwal , which then turned into a conflict between the Fascist-ruled Kingdom of Italy and the Ethiopian Empire (then commonly known as "Abyssinia"). The League of Nations ruled against Italy and voted for economic sanctions , but they were never fully applied. Italy ignored

120-572: A decision, he had made no decision about anything and he had never heard of the "Canadian initiative" in Geneva. Mackenzie King's opposition to Riddell's "Canadian initiative" was motivated by domestic politics since Mussolini was widely admired in Catholic Quebec, especially by its nationalistic intelligentsia, and Mackenzie King's Liberal Party had just won the majority of the seats in Quebec in

180-570: A force of armed Ethiopians. According to the Italians, the Ethiopians attacked the Somalis with rifle and machine-gun fire. According to the Ethiopians, the Italians attacked them and were supported by two tanks and three aircraft. In the end, approximately 107 Ethiopians and 50 Italians and Somalis were killed. Neither side did anything to avoid confrontation; the Ethiopians repeatedly menaced

240-558: A fort at the Walwal oasis in the eastern Ogaden , well beyond the 21-league limit. The fort was in a boundary zone between the nations, which was not well defined, and is now about 130 km (81 mi) inside Ethiopia. On 29 September 1934, Italy and Abyssinia released a joint statement renouncing any aggression against each other. On 22 November 1934, a force of 1,000 Ethiopian militia with three fitaurari (Ethiopian military-political commanders) arrived near Walwal and formally asked

300-733: A meeting between Laval and Mussolini resulted in the Franco-Italian Agreement , which gave Italy parts of French Somaliland (now Djibouti ), redefined the official status of Italians in French-held Tunisia and essentially gave Italy a free hand in dealing with Ethiopia. In exchange, France hoped for Italian support against Germany. On 25 January, five Italian askaris were killed by Ethiopian forces near Walwal. On 10 February 1935, Mussolini mobilised two divisions. On 23 February, Mussolini began to send large numbers of troops to Eritrea and Italian Somaliland ,

360-764: A result, six nations did not recognize Italy's occupation in 1937: China, New Zealand, the Soviet Union, Spain, Mexico and the United States. Italian control of Ethiopia was never total because of continued guerrilla activity, which the British would later use to their advantage during World War II . The end of the AOI came quickly during World War II. In early 1941, as part of the East African Campaign , Allied forces launched offensive actions against

420-547: A settlement had not been reached by 25 August. On 19 June, Ethiopia requested neutral observers. From 23 to 24 June, the United Kingdom tried to quell the crisis by sending Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Anthony Eden to try to broker a peace agreement. The attempt was unsuccessful, and it became clear that Mussolini was intent on conquest. On 25 July, the United Kingdom imposed an embargo on arms sales to both Italy and Ethiopia. Many historians believe that

480-507: A test arises, we shall have deserved it. On 6 December 1934, Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia protested the Italian aggression at Walwal. On 8 December, Italy demanded an apology for Ethiopian aggression, and on 11 December, it followed up that demand with another for financial and strategic compensation. On 3 January 1935, Ethiopia appealed to the League of Nations for arbitration of

540-552: A threat to the peace of the country, whether from the internal or the international point of view. On 3 October 1935, shortly after the League had exonerated both parties in the Walwal incident, Italian armed forces from Eritrea invaded Ethiopia without a declaration of war , which prompted Ethiopia to declare war on Italy and thus started the Second Italo–Ethiopian War . On 7 October in what would come to be known as

600-463: A word for "king." The consort of the emperor was referred to as the ətege . Empress Zewditu used the feminized form nəgəstä nägäst ("Queen of Kings") to show that she reigned in her own right, and did not use the title of ətege . On the death of a monarch any male or female descendant of the various dynastic lines could claim succession to the throne. Though in many cases the practice favoured primogeniture for at least one subsequent succession to

660-482: Is no historical evidence supporting the legends or Yekuno Amlak's ancestry. There is no credible basis to the claims that the Aksumite royal house was descended from Solomon (or that any Aksumite king even claimed such an ancestry) or that Yekuno Amlak was descended from the Aksumite royal house. Solomon is dated to the 10th century BCE, hundreds of years before the founding of Aksum. Historian Harold G. Marcus describes

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720-411: Is not a single Italian national, a consul establishes himself in an area known as consular territory with a guard of about ninety men, for whom he claims jurisdictional immunity. This is an obvious abuse of consular privileges. The abuse is all the greater that the consul's duties, apart from the supplying of information of a military character, take the form of assembling stocks of arms, which constitute

780-610: Is welcome indeed after the advice liberally offered to the Emperor of Abyssinia by some sections of the English Press, urging him to submit to Italy, not because the Italian blackmail is just, but because it would be so inconvenient for ourselves if he resisted. We might be called on to do more than lip-service to the League; and how extravagant would that be! Twenty-one years ago, when the consequences of honouring our obligations were far more menacing, we were indignant enough at

840-485: The Atse ( Amharic : ዐፄ , "emperor"), was the hereditary ruler of the Ethiopian Empire , from at least the 13th century until the abolition of the monarchy in 1975. The emperor was the head of state and head of government , with ultimate executive , judicial and legislative power in that country. A National Geographic article from 1965 called Imperial Ethiopia "nominally a constitutional monarchy ; in fact it

900-590: The British Parliament supported the initiative of Konni Zilliacus and unanimously authorised the imposition of sanctions against Italy if it continued its policy towards Ethiopia. On 28 September, Ethiopia began to mobilize its large but poorly-equipped army. On 7 November, the Irish Free State passed the League of Nations Bill, which placed sanctions on Italy. The League of Nations had described Ethiopia as follows: At places where there

960-557: The Dubats garrison stationed there (comprising about 60 soldiers) to withdraw from the area. The Somali NCO leading the garrison refused to withdraw and alerted Captain Cimmaruta, the commander of the garrison of Uarder, 20 kilometres (12 mi) away, to what had happened. The next day, in the course of surveying the border between British Somaliland and Ethiopia, an Anglo–Ethiopian boundary commission arrived at Walwal. The commission

1020-494: The League of Nations , but aid from the League was not forthcoming. Italy added Ethiopia to its already existing colonies of Eritrea and Italian Somalia, creating the new dependent state of Italian East Africa and was the first to associate Ethiopia as part of the Horn of Africa . On 9 May 1936, King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy proclaimed himself emperor of Ethiopia, replacing Haile Selassie. Victor Emmanuel's claim to emperorship

1080-460: The Suez Canal . Even Italy's use of chemical weapons and other actions that violated international norms did little to change the League's passive approach to the situation. In late December 1935, Hoare of the United Kingdom and Laval of France proposed the secret Hoare-Laval Pact , which would have ended the war but allowed Italy to control large areas of Ethiopia. Mussolini agreed to consider

1140-408: The "Riddell Incident", the League of Nations declared Italy to be the aggressor and started the slow process of imposing economic sanctions on Italy. The sanctions were limited, however, since they did not prohibit the provision of several vital materials, such as oil, and were not carried out by all members of the League. The Canadian delegate to the League, Walter Alexander Riddell , suggested for

1200-489: The 13th century until 1974. The Amhara warrior turned emperor, Kassa of Qwara , Gonder , in 1855 took complete control over Ethiopia and was crowned Emperor Tewodros II . Of the valley nobility, he claimed paternal descent from Emperor Fasilides, by way of one of the aforementioned emperor's daughters. After Emperor Tewodros' reign, one of the many rebels leaders that helped the British in their expedition into Abyssinia

1260-554: The 1935 election. Mackenzie King was terrified of the possibility of Canada taking the lead in imposing oil sanctions against Italy would cause the Liberals to lose their seats in Quebec in the next election. Thus, no more was heard of the "Canadian initiative". The United States , which was generally indifferent to the League's weak sanctions, increased its exports to Italy, and the United Kingdom and France did not take any serious action against Italy, such as blocking Italian access to

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1320-635: The Derg – refused to return to Ethiopia to rule. The Derg abolished the monarchy on 21 March 1975. In April 1989, Amha Selassie was proclaimed emperor in exile at London, with his succession backdated to the date of Haile Selassie's death in August 1975 rather than his deposition in September 1974. In 1993 a group called the " Crown Council of Ethiopia ", which included several descendants of Haile Selassie, affirmed Amha as emperor and legal head of Ethiopia. However,

1380-523: The Ethiopian sense of nationhood. This and the dynasty's continued propagation of the myth was reflected in the 1955 Ethiopian constitution , which declared that the emperor "descends without interruption from the dynasty of Menelik I, son of Queen of Ethiopia, the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon of Jerusalem". The Solomonic dynasty , which claimed descent from the old Aksumite rulers, ruled Ethiopia from

1440-478: The Italian colonies that bordered Ethiopia to the northeast and the southeast respectively. There was little international protest in response to the military build-up. On 8 March, Ethiopia again requested arbitration and noted the Italian military build-up. Three days later, Italy and Ethiopia agreed on a neutral zone in the Ogaden. On 17 March, in response to the continued Italian build-up, Ethiopia again appealed to

1500-512: The Italian garrison with the threat of an armed attack, and the Italians sent two planes over the Ethiopian camp. One of them fired a short machine-gun burst, which no one on the ground noticed, after the pilot saw Captain Cimmaruta in the midst of the Ethiopians and thought that he had been taken prisoner by them. "Treaties or scraps of paper?" To the Editor of The Daily Telegraph Sir, Last Saturday's leading article on "Abyssinia: Our Duty"

1560-541: The League for help. On 22 March, the Italians yielded to pressure from the League to submit to arbitration on the dispute arising from the Walwal incident but continued to mobilise its troops in the region. On 11 May, Ethiopia again protested the ongoing Italian mobilisation. Between 20 and 21 May, the League held a special session to discuss the crisis in Ethiopia. On 25 May, a League council resolved that it would meet if no fifth arbitrator had been selected by 25 June or if

1620-402: The League to add steel and oil to the sanctions, which caused the world press to speak of the "Canadian initiative" and of the bold decision taken by Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King in pressing for oil sanctions against Italy. Riddell, who had acted on his own, was promptly disavowed by Mackenzie King, who characteristically announced that it was absolutely untrue that he made

1680-580: The League's principles. The war continued, and Mussolini turned to the German dictator, Adolf Hitler , for an alliance. In March 1936, Hitler marched troops into the Rhineland , which had been prohibited by the Treaty of Versailles . The French were now so desperate to get Italian support against German aggression directly on their border that they would not take any further action with sanctions. Since France

1740-501: The League, since "collective security" means simply the security of those strong enough to be secure. And then, if we perish in the chaos for which the world is heading, it will at least be without having canted to our last breath. This jungle-law may have ruled between nations in the past; the time is rapidly approaching when either it ends or else the world. If the League cannot enforce one law for weak and strong, black and white, sooner or later we are finished. And if we flinch every time

1800-478: The Zagwe dynasty (which ruled from c.  900 AD ), and was first practiced on Debre Damo , which was captured by the 10th-century queen Yodit or " Gudit ", who then isolated 200 princes there to death; however, Pakenham also notes that when questioned, the abbot of the monastery on Debre Damo knew of no such tale. Taddesse Tamrat argues that this practice began in the reign of Wedem Arad (1299–1314), following

1860-460: The constitutions adopted during the reign of Selassie: the one adopted on July 16, 1931 ; and the revised one of November 1955 . Haile Selassie was the last Solomonic monarch to rule Ethiopia. He was deposed by the Derg , the committee of lower-ranking military and police officials on September 12, 1974. The Derg offered the throne to Selassie's son Amha Selassie , who – understandably mistrustful of

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1920-507: The country who supported their claim to the Imperial throne; the combined military and religious strength would use their influence to contain and put down any competing claims. The second involved interning all of the emperor's possible rivals in a secure location, which drastically limited their ability to disrupt the empire with revolts or to dispute the succession of an heir apparent . Ethiopian traditions do not all agree as to exactly when

1980-520: The courage to use them. But instead of that the English Press, with a few honourable exceptions, has been taken up with nauseating discussion of our own interests. Later on, one gathers, we shall be very firm with Italy about the water of Lake Tana. Meanwhile, Ethiopian blood is a cheaper commodity. If this is to be the way of our world, why make treaties at all? Let us at least have the courage of our cynicism. Let us have done with covenants, since they no longer serve to deceive anybody. Let us have done with

2040-589: The custom started of imprisoning rivals to the throne on a "Mountain of the Princes". One tradition credits this practice to the Zagwe king Yemrehana Krestos (fl. 11th century), who allegedly received the idea in a dream; Taddesse Tamrat discredits this tradition, arguing that the records of the Zagwe dynasty betray too many disputed successions for this to have been the case. Another tradition, recorded by historian Thomas Pakenham , states that this practice predates

2100-421: The discussions had failed. On 26 July, the League confirmed that no fifth member of the arbitration panel had been selected. On 3 August, the League prevented arbitration talks from being held on the sovereignty of Walwal. On 12 August, Ethiopia pleaded for the arms embargo to be lifted. On 16 August, France and the United Kingdom offered Italy large concessions in Ethiopia to try to avert war, but Italy rejected

2160-502: The dispute arising from the Walwal incident. However, the League's response was inconclusive. A subsequent analysis by an arbitration committee of the League of Nations absolved both parties of any culpability from all events. Shortly after Ethiopia's initial appeal, French Minister of Foreign Affairs Pierre Laval and British Foreign Secretary Samuel Hoare met with the Italian dictator, Benito Mussolini , in Rome . On 7 January 1935,

2220-655: The embargo was a response to Italy's decree that it would view arms sales to Ethiopia as an act of unfriendliness toward Italy, but other observers believe that the United Kingdom was protecting its economic interests in East Africa . The United Kingdom also cleared its warships from the Mediterranean Sea , which allowed Italy further unhindered access to East Africa. On 25 June, Italian and Ethiopian officials met in The Hague to discuss arbitration. By 9 July,

2280-514: The emperor of Ethiopia had theoretically unlimited power over his subjects, his councillors came to play an increasing role in governing Ethiopia, because many emperors were succeeded either by a child, or one of the incarcerated princes, who could only successfully leave their prisons with help from the outside. As a result, by the mid-18th century the power of the emperor had been largely transferred to his deputies, like Ras Mikael Sehul of Tigray ( c.  1691 – 1779), who held actual power in

2340-510: The empire and elevated or deposed emperors at will. The emperors of Ethiopia derived their right to rule based on two dynastic claims: their descent from the kings of Axum , and their descent from Menelik I , the legendary son of Solomon and Makeda, Queen of Sheba . The claim to their relationship to the Kings of Axum derives from Yakuno Amlak's claim that he was the descendant of Dil Na'od , through his father, although he defeated and killed

2400-431: The imperial throne, it often, as in the case of Emperor Yohannes IV of Tigray's claim to the throne after the death of Emperor Tewodros II from Gondar , would leave the direct lineage of one royal family in favor of another. The system developed two approaches to controlling the succession: the first involved the selection of emperors by a council of vassal regional royals and powerful clergy members from throughout

2460-587: The isolated Italian colony. On 5 May 1941, exactly five years after the Italians had captured his capital , Emperor Haile Selassie entered Addis Ababa. There were also major impacts on the League of Nations: International crisis Lebow gives a breakdown of three types of international crises: With the exception of a justification of hostilities, the study of international crises assumes that neither side actually wants to go to war, but must be visibly prepared to do so. George's book presents an overview of

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2520-504: The lands of the monarchy – which however is contrary to keeping the country undivided. The potential royal rivals were incarcerated at Amba Geshen until the site was destroyed in 1540 during the Ethiopian-Adal war ; then, from the reign of Fasilides (1632–1667) until the mid-18th century, at Wehni . Rumors of these royal mountain residences were part of the inspiration for Samuel Johnson 's short story, Rasselas . Although

2580-474: The last Zagwe king in battle. His claim to the throne was also helped by his marriage to that king's daughter, even though Ethiopians commonly do not acknowledge claims from the distaff side. The claim of descent from Menelik I is based on the assertion that the kings of Axum were also the descendants of Menelik I; its definitive and best-known formulation is set forth in the Kebra Nagast . However, there

2640-524: The male-line Solomonic tradition, for which he adopted the throne name of Menelik II. The Emperor Tewodros spent his youth fighting with invading Ottoman Egyptians (termed 'Turks' by the Ethiopians), then unifying the empire after the dark age of the ' Zemene Mesafint ' (Era of the Princes). Emperor Yohannes IV defeated an invading Egyptian army in modern day Eritrea and died while working to address

2700-471: The offers. On 22 August, the United Kingdom reaffirmed its commitment to the arms embargo. On 4 September, the League met again and exonerated Italy and Ethiopia of any culpability in the Walwal incident on the ground that each nation had believed Walwal to be in its own territorial borders. On 10 September, Laval, Eden and even Hoare agreed on limitations to sanctions against Italy. On 25 September, Ethiopia again asked for neutral observers. On 27 September,

2760-471: The plan to buy time for fear of oil sanctions against Italy, but he had no intention of accepting it. The plan caused an outcry and heavy public criticism in the United Kingdom and France when the plan was leaked to the media. Hoare and Laval were accused of betraying the Abyssinians, and both resigned. The pact was dropped, but the perception spread that the United Kingdom and France were not serious about

2820-702: The process and conflicting goals of crisis management as well as many examples. He discusses a number of strategies, including: International crises tend to result in war, almost by definition; they are then remembered best not as crises but as causes of wars . For information on international crises that resulted immediately in war, see list of wars . Given the above, some of the crises that are best-known as crises were defused. The following crises did not immediately provoke large-scale violence, but set off anger in countries: Emperor of Ethiopia The emperor of Ethiopia ( Ge'ez : ንጉሠ ነገሥት , romanized:  nəgusä nägäst , " King of Kings "), also known as

2880-685: The sanctions, quit the League, made special deals with the United Kingdom and France and ultimately annexed and occupied Abyssinia after it had won the Second Italo-Ethiopian War . The crisis is generally regarded as having discredited the League. The Italo–Ethiopian Treaty of 1928 stated that the border between Italian Somaliland and Ethiopia was 21 leagues from and parallel to the Banaadir coast (approximately 118.3 km [73.5 mi]). In 1930, Italy built

2940-640: The situation regarding the Mahdist presence in Ethiopia. Emperor Menelik II achieved a major military victory against Italian invaders in March 1896 at the Battle of Adwa and conquered the modern borders of Ethiopia. Italy under Benito Mussolini attacked Ethiopia in 1935, starting the Second Italo-Ethiopian War . Italian successes in the war caused the emperor Haile Selassie to be voted into exile by his nobles in 1936; he pled Ethiopia's case against Italy before

3000-518: The stories of the Kebra Nagast as a "pastiche of legends" created to legitimize Yekuno Amlak's seizure of power. David Northrup notes that the Kebra Nagast's imaginative and emotive account of a line of descent from Solomon and Sheba to the kings of Aksum and the new Solomonic dynasty is highly improbable and unsupported by evidence. It is a myth. Although the story originated as a medieval political myth, it nevertheless became embedded in

3060-444: The struggle for succession that he believes lies behind the series of brief reigns of the sons of Yagbe'u Seyon (reigned 1285–1294). A constructivist approach states that the tradition was used on occasion, weakened or lapsed sometimes, and was sometimes revived to full effect after some unfortunate disputes – and that the custom started in time immemorial as Ethiopian common inheritance patterns allowed all agnates to also succeed to

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3120-459: The suggestion that treaties were, after all, only "scraps of paper." But geography plays strange tricks with justice. Italy is breaking at least three solemn pledges in her aggression on a fellow member of the League – the very type of aggression that the League was created to prevent: but many of us do not find it matters very much. The League has not yet called on us; but there are already plenty of voices busy finding pretexts for us to shuffle out of

3180-530: The throne, with most combat in Ethiopia ending in 1941. The Armistice of Cassibile was signed in September 1943 with the Kingdom of Italy's surrender, and Victor Emmanuel III officially renounced his title as emperor of Ethiopia in November 1943. In January 1942, Haile Selassie was officially reinstated to power in Ethiopia. The position of the emperor and the line of succession were strictly defined in both of

3240-432: The whole thing. It is not our duty to defend Abyssinia single-handed – no-one has suggested it; but it is our duty, if covenants mean anything whatsoever, to oppose this piece of brigandage at Geneva, and after. It is our duty to be concerting with whatever Powers retain some decency, particularly the United States, what measures may be needed. Europe has at its disposal sanctions that Italy could not defy, provided we have

3300-573: Was Dejazmatch Kassa, he was rewarded with articles of war for his services and went on to assume power through his claim of Solomonic descent from his mothers Gondarian ancestry and was crowned Emperor Yohannes IV . Sahle Maryam of Shewa, who descended from Solomonic emperors directly paternally through the Shewan Branch (junior only to the Gondar line), ascended the imperial throne following Emperor Yohannes IV's death and thus, purporting to restore

3360-625: Was a benevolent autocracy ". The title " King of Kings ", often rendered imprecisely in English as " emperor ", dates back to ancient Mesopotamia , but was used in Axum by King Sembrouthes ( c.  250 AD ). However, Yuri Kobishchanov dates this usage to the period following the Persian victory over the Romans in 296–297. The most notable pre-Solomonic usage of the title "Negusa Nagast"

3420-483: Was by Ezana of Axum; despite this, prior to the beginning of the Solomonic Dynasty , most Axumite and Zagwe rulers went by negus . Its use meant that both subordinate officials and tributary rulers, notably the gubernatorial vassals of Gojjam (who ranked 12th in the states non-dynastic protocol as per 1690), Welega , the seaward provinces and later Shewa , received the honorific title of nəgus ,

3480-411: Was confronted by a newly-arrived Italian force. The British members of the boundary commission protested but withdrew to avoid an international incident. The Ethiopian members of the boundary commission, however, stayed at Walwal. From the 5th of December to the 7th, for reasons which have never been clearly determined, there was a skirmish between the garrison of Somalis, who were in Italian service, and

3540-790: Was not entirely accepted, with the Soviet Union never considering the Italian conquest legitimate, and Haile Selassie continuing to contest the occupation from exile in the United Kingdom. With Italy's entry on the side of the Axis Powers in World War II , the African part of the British Empire aided Haile Selassie and anti-Italian Ethiopian forces in the East African campaign . Italy was defeated and Selassie restored to

3600-624: Was prepared to give Abyssinia to Mussolini, his troops were able to continue their war relatively unchallenged by the rest of Europe. Haile Selassie was forced into exile on 2 May. All of the sanctions that had been put in place by the League were dropped after the Italian capture of the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa , on 5 May 1936. Ethiopia was then merged with the other Italian colonies to become Italian East Africa ( Africa Orientale Italiana , or AOI). Ethiopia never officially surrendered and pleaded for help from foreign nations, such as Haile Selassie's 7 June 1936, address to League of Nations . As

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