Italian aggression in North Africa (1 gen 1935 anni – 1 gen 1937 anni)

Descrizione:

The first major challenge to Versailles came from Japan. To become an industrial power, Japan required raw materials and overseas markets. Like the Western European powers and the United States before it, Japan embraced an expansionary foreign policy in pursuit of colonial possessions and regional influence. In 1931, Japanese troops occupied Manchuria, an industrialized province in northern China, followed by a full-scale invasion of China in 1937. In both instances, the League of Nations condemned Japan’s actions but did nothing to stop them.

Japan’s defiance of the League encouraged a fascist leader half a world away: Italy’s Benito Mussolini, who had come to power in 1922. Il Duce (The Leader), as Mussolini styled himself, had long condemned the Versailles treaty, which denied Italy’s colonial claims in Africa and the Middle East. Like Japan, Italy desired overseas colonies for raw materials, markets, and national prestige. In 1935, Mussolini invaded Ethiopia, one of the few remaining independent countries in Africa. Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie appealed to the League of Nations. But the League could only impose limited sanctions and issue toothless denunciations, which did not stop Italy from completing its conquest of Ethiopia in 1936.

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