Lentorama 2023: It Happened on Holy Saturday

Day 35: A failure by all accords

As the 1930s progressed, Britain and France became increasingly concerned that fascist Italy would ally with Nazi Germany in the future conflict that was looming over Europe. This led both countries to take a less than forceful approach towards Italy's invasion of Ethiopia and the participation of Italian troops in the Spanish Civil War. 

Italy, for its part, wanted to isolate Britain from Spain so that when it did ally with Germany and start that future conflict, Italy could invade France without worrying about a British response. They also were spreading anti-British propaganda in the Middle East and supplying arms to Palestinian rebeles, who were fighting the British mandate.

These competing interests were addressed at the negotiating table, leading to the signing of the Easter Accords on Saturday, April 16, 1938. In these agreements the two countries agreed (more or less) to respect each other's possessions in the Middle East, which was assumed to include Ethiopia given that the country wasn't mentioned by name. Italy also agreed to remove its troops from Spain once the civil war there ended.

The Easter Accords wound up being an appetizer for the Munich Agreement that came later in 1938, in that the accords, like the agreement, failed to achieve its ultimate goals. Italy allied with Germany in the Pact of Steel, and Britain and France continued to be staunch allies against fascism.