League of Nations
League of Nations
Aims
1.
2.
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4.
To improve people’s lives and jobs worldwide.
Global disarmament.
International co-operation towards peace.
Enforce Treaty of Versailles
Organisation
Assembly
Assembly of all member
countries meet once a year to
vote on: new members,
revisions to treaties, budget
etc.
Council
The Permanent Court of
International Justice
France, Britain, Italy, Japan.
1926 – Germany
1935 – USSR
NO USA.
Secretariat
Administration.
Strengths
1. Popular – membership from 48 – 60 in 10 years
2. People wanted it to work – didn’t want more war.
International Labour Organisation
League of Nations
3. Clear, logical set of sanctions.
4. Major powers did join in future (Germany and USSR)
5. Minor successes in 1920s
Weaknesses
1. Membership – No USA – missing the world’s strongest nation so no
economic or military might.
2. Part of Treaty of Versailles – many automatically resented it e.g.
Germans.
3. Relied too much on Britain and France – Only major powers,
considerably weakened and poorer after WW1.
4. Self-interest – Depression, countries poor and more interested in
regaining wealth than international peace.
5. Economic Sanctions hard to enforce – Would affect countries’ wealth to
stop trading, not keen on it.
6. No army of its own – Britain and France too poor to give military help,
only USA could help but wasn’t a member.
7. Structure – decisions had to be unanimous, made it hard for anything to
be decided.
8. Couldn’t deal with strong countries – e.g. Italy and Japan.
Successes
1. Greece and Bulgaria (1925) – border skirmish, Greek soldier killed.
Greece invades Bulgaria who asks league for help. Greece told to pull
out and fined £45,000. Both countries accept this.
2. Aaland Islands (1921) – Islands equidistant between Finland and
Sweden. Traditionally belonged to Finland but many inhabitants wanted
League of Nations
Swedish rule. Couldn’t decide so asked League who ruled that they
should stay with Finland but no weapons to be kept there. Still in place
today.
3. Healthcare – World Health Organisation (WHO) did work on malaria and
leprosy in particular.
4. Prostitution and slavery – worked on getting rid of them.
5. International Labour Organisation – introduced minimum wage and
worked on ending child labour.
Failures
The Manchurian Crisis – 1931
 Japan suffered in depression.
 Wanted to overcome it by building up empire.
 Wanted Chinese province – Manchuria – rich in coal, oil and natural
resources.
 Chinese unstable – civil war.
 Japanese staged incident at one of the stations on their railway line
(Mukden) which ran through Manchuria – bomb destroyed it.
 Used as excuse to send army into Manchuria.
 “Protecting their assets.”
 Puppet state – renamed Manchukuo
What did the League do?
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China went to League for help.
League asked Japanese to leave.
They were ignored.
Investigation to find out what really happened – took a year.
Confirmed Japan as aggressor.
BUT Britain and France didn’t want to make an enemy of Japan.
Britain had places in Asia and didn’t want an enemy there.
Discussed Arms Embargo but it was the depression – didn’t want to lose
more.
 Didn’t want to lose trade.
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 Too far away to bother – only USSR was near and they weren’t part of
league.
So Japan got away with it and pulled out of the league.
The Abyssinian Crisis (1935)
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Mussolini wanted empire in Africa.
Not much left – chose Abyssinia.
Italian soldiers killed at oasis (Wal-Wal).
But what were they doing there? – Staged.
Mussolini went into Abyssinia using modern weapons on traditional
people.
 Abyssinians defeated.
What did the League do?
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Haile Selassie asked for help.
Italy deemed aggressor – told to leave Abyssinia.
Ignored.
Arms embargo/sanctions applied.
Ignored.
Didn’t want to take military action but wanted to protect League.
Hoare-Laval Pact – Britain and France secretly promised 2/3 of the best
bits of Abyssinia to Mussolini.
 Ended up going public – French and British = horrified.
 Pact called off and all of Abyssinia ends up going to Mussolini who leaves
League.
League proved completely ineffective – didn’t do much after this.
Relations between countries = chilly.
Rome-Berlin Axis signed between Mussolini and Hitler, who supported
Mussolini through Crisis.
“Pact of Steel” – co-operation in Spanish Civil war strengthens blossoming
friendship. 