The Anglo-Italian Agreements of 1938, also called the Easter Pact or the Easter Accords (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

: ''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. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and the

governments in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

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 is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. The agreements were registered in the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) 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 that ...

''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, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

and the Italian involvement in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...

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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

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, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

, 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 (german: Stahlpakt, it, Patto d'Acciaio), formally known as the Pact of Friendship and Alliance between Germany and Italy, was a military and political alliance between Italy and Germany. The pact was initially drafted as a t ...

Notes

{{Reflist

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