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| 1936, May 5 |
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| The Italian forces finally occupied Addis Ababa, and the resistance of the Ethiopians collapsed (See July). | 1 |
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| May 9 |
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| The ITALIAN GOVERNMENT FORMALLY PROCLAIMED THE ANNEXATION OF ALL ETHIOPIA, the king of Italy assuming the title emperor of Ethiopia. Gradual pacification of the country (See 1936–41). | 2 |
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| July 4 |
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| The League council voted to discontinue sanctions. | 3 |
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| July |
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| OUTBREAK OF THE CIVIL WAR IN SPAIN (See July 18). From the very outset Mussolini took an active part in supporting the Insurgents with men and equipment, on the theory that Italy could not permit the establishment of a “Communist” government in the Mediterranean. The expense of sending 50,000–75,000 “volunteers” to Spain, added to the cost of the Ethiopian campaigns and the demands for ever greater armaments, necessitated the devaluation of the lire (Oct. 5) and the introduction of various forms of levy on capital. At the same time the Italian action in Spain aroused the apprehensions of Great Britain and France and served to increase the tension in the Mediterranean. Mussolini, under these circumstances, was obliged to draw closer to Germany. | 4 |
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| Oct. 25 |
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| The Italian-German agreement regarding Austria was concluded (See Oct. 25). It served as a foundation for Italo-German cooperation and may be taken as the beginning of the Rome-Berlin Axis. | 5 |
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