Palestinian general strike begins against mandate rule and dispossession

Japanese troops used an explosion on the South Manchuria Railway as a pretext to seize Mukden and occupy Manchuria. China appealed to the League of Nations, exposing the weakness of collective...

Japanese authorities proclaimed Manchukuo after occupying Manchuria and installing Puyi as its head of state. The new regime presented itself as independent, but depended on Japanese military and...

The League of Nations admitted Iraq as a member, formally ending Britain’s mandate. Independence followed years of revolt and negotiation, but British military rights, treaty obligations, and...

After the League rejected Japan’s claim to Manchuria, Tokyo notified the League that it would withdraw. The notice came two years after the invasion and signaled the limits of an institution unable or...

Italian forces crossed into Ethiopia from Eritrea and Italian Somaliland, beginning a war of conquest. Ethiopia, one of the League’s few African members, appealed for collective action, but...

Emperor Haile Selassie addressed the League of Nations after Italy’s invasion and occupation of much of Ethiopia. He warned that abandoning collective security would place every small state at risk....

The military uprising began in Spanish Morocco and spread to mainland Spain. Franco’s Army of Africa, including Moroccan troops recruited under colonial rule, became central to the Nationalist...

Japanese forces captured Nanjing after the city’s defense collapsed. For weeks, soldiers killed civilians and prisoners, committed mass sexual violence, and looted homes and institutions. Chinese...

The constitution of Ireland came into force, replacing the Free State framework and reducing the formal role of the British Crown. It followed a decade of political struggle to unwind provisions of...

Delegates from 32 countries met at Evian to discuss the growing refugee crisis after Nazi persecution and Germany’s annexation of Austria. Many expressed sympathy but refused to expand admission....