What Was The Hoare-Laval Pact?
The Hoare-Laval Pact was an agreement which France and Britain had devised, to sort out the ‘Abyssinian Question’. The Abyssinian question was actually the Italian-Ethiopian war. Italy had invaded Abyssinia (now known as Ethiopia). Mussolini, the fascist leader of Italy, was determined to conquer Ethiopia. The Hoare-Laval Pact basically gave a large chunk of Ethiopia to Italy. Before the agreement was signed, the details of the agreement became public and Abyssinia was outraged that foreign countries would in effect ‘give most of it away’. However, the most interestign aspect of the Hoare-Laval pact is that it clearly indicates just how weak Britain and France were. Italy was in the grip of a fascist dictator, Germany also had a fascist leader and no country was willing to stand up against the fascist aggression which Italy had shown. Instead Britain and France bent over backwards to please Italy (and later Germany) by using a policy of appeasement: keeping peace at all costs.
