SIR ERIC DRüMMûND, BRITAINtS AMBASSADOR TO ITALY, AND BRITISH FOREIGN POLICY ...

134 Pages·1999·7.87 MB·English

SIR ERIC DRüMMûND, BRITAINtS AMBASSADOR
TO ITALY, AND BRITISH FOREIGN POLICY DURING THE
ITALO-ABYSSINIAN CRISIS OF 1935-1936
Araceli Julia P. Gelardi
B.S., Florida International University, 1982
THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF
THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
MASTER OF ARTS
in the Department
of
His tory
O Araceli Julia P. Gelardi 1998
SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
March 1998
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Abs tract
This thesis examines the role Britain's Ambassador to Italy,
Sir Eric Drummond, played on the formulation of British foreign
policy during the Italo-Abyssinian crisis of 1935-6. Contrary to
some past studies which ignore Drummond's impact on government
decisions during the crisis, this thesis shows that he did play
an important role in influencing many of the British goverment's
decisions.
This assessrnent has been arrived at by examining Drummondls
tenure as ambassador during the crisis, and also by focussing on
the perspectives of British governrnent officiais involved in the
foreign policy decision-making process. These individuals
include members in the Foreign Office such as the Permanent
Under-Secretary and, in the political sphere, the Foreign
Secretary.
The thesis illustrates how Drummond played a key role during
each phase of the crisis. Because of his position as arnbassador,
Sir Eric was able to present British views and positions taken
throughout the crisis to Mussolini and his aides. But, more
importantly, Drummond was able to provide his colleagues and
superiors in Whitehall with useful observations and, at times,
convincing advice which aided the British government in
formulating its policies in response to unfolding events.
The thesis is based on an analysis of primary and secondary
sources in English, both published and unpublished. The primary
sources are comprised mainly of British documents such as those
iii
fo und in the Foreign O f f ic e, General Correspondence, P o l i tical
F i l e s (F.O. 371) deposited in the Public Record Office at Kew,
Papers from the Foreign Office C o n f i d e n t i a l P r i n t and Reports,
and the Documents on B r i t i s h Foreign P o l i c y - Cabinet and Foreign
Office memoranda were also examined, as were other material found
in the published diplomatic documents of Canada, Germany, and the
United States. This emphasis on Foreign Office, Cabinet, and
other diplomatic sources is integral to the thesis because it is
in these materials that Drummondlso pinions and advice can be
found, along with his governmentlsr esponses and policies. Since
much of the crisis was played out within the League of Nations,
League publications were also used in this study, as were British
periodicals and rnemoirs.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
1 would like to express my appreciation to my supervisory
cornmittee for their help throughout my graduate studies. Many
thanks go to D r , Martin Kitchen for his advice and helpful
comments. f am also very much indebted to Dr. John Stubbs for
his invaluable suggestions and for his unfailing kindness.
Many thanks are also due to my husband and parents for their
encouragement and support- Finally, to my daughters, Victoria
and Gabriella, for their unending patience and good humour, 1
dedicate this thesis.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Approval . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii
Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . iii
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Acknowledgements v
Chapter One: Introduction - Background to the Italo-Abyssinian
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
crisis. 1
Chapter Two: A portrait of Sir Eric Drummond O . . . . . . . 8
Chap ter Three :
.
British foreign policy and the decision-making process. 14
Chapter Four: The beginning of the crisis (Dec 1934-Sept 1935)
Efforts by Britain, France and the League of Nations
. . . . . .
at finding a peaceful settlement 23
Chapter Five: The middle of the crisis (October-December1 935)
War and more intensive efforts at resolving the conflict. . 70
Chapter Six: The end of the crisis (January-July 1936)
Efforts to end hostilities and discussions
on the lifting of sanctions . . . . . - . 97
Chapter Seven: Conclusion . . . . . O . - . . . . . . . . . 1 08
ILLUSTRATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
BIBLIOGRAPHY 118
vi
Chapter One: Introduction - Background to the Italo -Abyssinian
crisis
During 1935-6 Benito Mussolini embarked upon his rnost
ambitious plan for acquiring a colonial empire, the conquest of
Abyssinia. Decernber 1934 marked the official beginning of the
Italo-Abyssinian crisis with a clash between Italian and
Abyssinian troops at Walwal, sorne sixty miles inside Abyssinian
territory. The crisis ended in July 1936 when sanctions imposed
by the League of Nations were lifted. By that time, Italian
troops had entered the Abyssinian capital of Addis Ababa (in May
1936), and forced Ernperor Haile Selassie to flee into exile.
Throughout the crisis, intense negotiations were pursued (both
within and outside of the League) in order to resolve matters.
In the end, Mussolini acquired his East African empire. However,
it was a venture which had exacted a hea-vy price £rom many of the
players involved.
Mussolini's scheme to subjugate Abyssinia was in accordance
with Fascist philosophy, for success in this endeavour would
illustrate how glorious and powerful Italy and il Duce were by
providing an empire rerniniscent of ancient Rome. However, the
whole adventure was not to be a straightforward affair, for the
crisis engulfed not only Abyssinia and Italy, but also affected
Great Britain, France, and the League of Nations. By the end O£
Mussolini's adventure in July 1936, European relations had become
severely strained. The Stresa front of April 1935 consisting of
Britain, France, and Italy in opposition to Nazi Germany's
increasing belligerence, had disintegrated. Moreover, the League
of Nations1 inability to deal successfully with the crisis had
also rendered the League a fatal blow.
The Italo-Abyssinian conflict was therefore not merely a
crisis of relations between Italy and Abyssinia, but was, above
all, a grave crisis with international implications, Ample
scholarly li terature theref ore exis ts on various aspects of the
conflict, There are, for instance, studies on the devastating
impact the crisis had on the League of Nations.' For
contemporary accounts of the war itself, there are Pietro
Badogliolsa nd Emilio de Bonolsp ro-Italian narrativesO2 Ange10
del Boca and Anthony Mockler have also written about the war, as
has Thomas M. Coffey/ Coffeytsw ork places heavy emphasis on
Abyssinia's emperor, Haile Selassie and presents a sympathetic
account of him.
Other aspects of the crisis can be found in works such as
Franklin D, Laurens1 examination of French policy. He also
analyzes the effect the crisis had on the French public as seen
See for example: Elmer Bendiner, A Time £or Ansels: the ~rasicomic
Historv of the Leaque of Nations (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1975); F.S.
Northedge, The Leaque of Nations: Its L i f e and ~imes( New York: Holmes &
Meier Publishers, Inc., 19 86) ; F. P. Walters, A Historv of the Leasue of
Nations (London: Oxford University Press, 19 52 ) -
Pietro Badoglio, The War in Abvssinia (London: Methuen Publishers,
1937) and Emilio de Bono, Anno XIIII: The Conquest of an Ern~ire (London: The
Cressett Press, Ltd., 1937). These works of course are pro-Italian propaganda
pieces published in English and aimed at British audiences and therefore need
to be consulted with caution. They are also revealing in showing how Italy
aspired to an -pire that was part of the British and French experience.
Ange10 del Boca, The Ethiopian W a r 1935-1941 (Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 1969); Anthony Mockler, Haile SelassielsW ar (Oxford
University Press, 1984); Thomas M. Co£fey, Lion bv the Tail: the Storv of
the Italian-Ethiopian War (New York: The Viking Press, 1974)-
through newspapers, periodicals, and journal^.^ Brice Harris,
meanwhile, details the role played by the United States during
the crisis. He cites the great powersg lack of decisive
leadership as a major contributing factor in Italyls ~ictory.~
For an overview of directions taken in Italian foreign
policy through a seventy year period, C.J. Lowe and F. Marzari
provide a detailed accountm6 Denis Mack Smith, an established
historlan of Italy, portrays Mussolini as a driven man who sought
prestige for Fascism and Italy through the acquisition of a
colonial empire by means of a military conquesL7 Esmonde
Robertson has produced a study of Mussolinifs foreign policy,
highlighting his efforts at establishing Italian spheres of
influence in Europe and Africa.'
Several scholarly monographs have been published during the
last thirty years on the crisis itself. Two examples focussing
on the international dimension can be £ound in studies done by
George W. Baer.g Frank Hardie has also written a thorough
'
Franklin D. Laurens, France and the Italo-Ethiopian Crisis 1935-1936
(The Hague: Mouton, 1967) .
Brice Harris, Jr,, The United States and the Italo-Ethiopian Crisis
(Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1964).
C.J. Lowe and F. Marzari, Italian Foreicm Policv 1870-1940 (London:
.
Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd., 1975)
'
Denis Mack Smith, Mussolini (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1981)
and Mussolinils Roman Empire (New York: The Viking Press, 1976).
Esmonde M- Robertson, Mussolini as Empire Builder: Europe and Africa
-
1932-6 (London: The Macmillan Press, Ltd., 1977)
George W. Baer, The Cominq of the Italian-Ethiopian War (Cambridge,
MA: Harvard University Press, 1967) and Test Case: Italv, Ethiopia, and the
Leawe of Nations (Stanford: Hoover Institution Press, 1976).
account of the crisis. He interprets the actions of the European
powers as the first steps taken towards the policy of
appeasement,1° A substantial portion of Baer and Hardie's
monographs are devoted not only to the Italian and French
perspectives, but also to the British foreign policy aspects of
the crisis.''
In addition to these books, several journal articles also
highlight the dilemmas facing British foreign policy makers
during the period. R.A.C. Parker illustrates this well in his
paper entitled, "Great Britain, France and the Ethiopian Crisis,
1935-36." It focusses on the differing outlooks and responses of
the British and French governments to the conflict, whicn
eventually led to exceedinçly strained relations.12
Though a number of scholarly works on the Italo-Abyssinian
crisis and its relation to British foreign policy have been
produced, very little work has been written thus far on Sir Eric
Drummond. To date, only one book appears to have been written on
10 Frank Hardie, The Abvssinian Crisis (London: B.T. Batsford Ltd.,
1974).
l1 Some of the books which have portions devoted to the Abyssinian
question as it relates to British foreign policy include: R.J.Q. Adams,
British Politics and Foreiqn Policy in the-~qeo f Appeaçernent 1935-9 (London:
Macmillan, 1993) ; Corelli Barnett, The Collapse of British Power (New York:
Morros, 1972); Northedge, The Leacme of Nations; Gaines Post, Jr., Dilemmas
of Foreim Policy in the Aqe of Appeasement 1934-7 (Ithaca: Corne11
.
University Press, 1993)
l2 R.A.C. Parker, "Great Britain, France and the Ethiopian Crisis, 1935-
36," Enqlish Historical Review, volume LXXXIX, no. 351 ( ~ p r i1l9 741, pp, 293-
332.