World History Minute: Italy invades Ethiopia (May 5, 1936)

World History Minute: Italy invades Ethiopia (May 5, 1936)
World History Minute: Italy invades Ethiopia (May 5, 1936)

World History Minute: Italy invades Ethiopia (May 5, 1936)

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On May 5th, 1936, the Italian army occupied Ethiopia’s capital city. In a dramatic speech before the League of Nations, Emperor Haile Selassie, who had gone into exile, warned “It is us today. It will be you tomorrow.” Italy’s stay would be short-lived. Ethiopia boasts itself as the only African nation to not be colonized. Historian John Schmidt tells us what happened. PHOTO: Flickr/RasMarley - A hand-illuminated photographic detail from a map of Ethiopia drawn in 1923 shows Haile Selassie (1892-1974), who reigned as emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974 and who once owned the map. Haile Selassie died in 1975, but many believe he was assassinated by the Soviet-backed Derg.