The Anglo-Italian Agreements of 1938, also called the Easter Pact or the Easter Accords ( Italian: ''Patto'' or ''Accordi di Pasqua''), were a series of agreements concluded between the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

and the Italian governments in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

on 16 April 1938 to facilitate the Italian government's co-operation in keeping the existing world order and to prevent it from allying with

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. The agreements were registered in the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

''Treaty Series'' on 15 March 1939.

Background

Since 1935, the British and French governments had been courting the Italian government under Mussolini in the hope of preventing the formation of an alliance between Italy and Nazi Germany. That concern led to the British and the French responses to the Italian invasion of

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

and the Italian involvement in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

to be weak and ineffectual. Additionally, Italy had been broadcasting anti-British propaganda and supplying arms to Arab rebels in British Palestine. Meanwhile, Italy sought to turn Britain away from France so that Britain would remain neutral when Italy would decide to attack France. That policy would last until the Italians entered the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in June 1940.

Terms

In the several agreements signed on the same day, the British and the Italian governments undertook to observe the order in the Mediterranean and to refrain from any actions against the sovereignty of the Kingdoms of Saudi Arabia and Yemen, where the British government had a foothold in Aden while the Italian government controlled

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

, across the Straits of Aden. They also undertook to uphold the freedom of navigation in the Suez Canal and to preserve the peace between their colonial possessions in East Africa. Ethiopia was not named in the agreements, but it was clear the British government intended to ignore Italian control there. The Italian government undertook to withdraw its forces from Spain to facilitate the restoration of peace in that country.

Aftermath

The accords were largely a failure for both sides. Italy failed to drive a wedge in relations between France and Britain and the appeasement policy towards the Italian government did not prevent the formation of a German-Italian alliance, which was concluded in May 1939 as the

Pact of Steel The Pact of Steel (, ), formally known as the Pact of Friendship and Alliance between Germany and Italy (, ), was a military and political alliance between Germany and Italy, signed in 1939. The pact was initially drafted as a tripartite milita ...

Notes

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External links

Text of the agreements
Treaties concluded in 1938 Treaties entered into force in 1939 Treaties of the Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946) Treaties of the United Kingdom 1938 in Italy League of Nations treaties Italy–United Kingdom relations Interwar-period treaties fr:Pacte de Pâques it:Accordi di Pasqua