Editing Hoare–Laval Pact (section)

==Background==
In 1935 the [[Abyssinian Crisis]] and [[Second Italo-Ethiopian War]] began. In the United Kingdom many people and the official opposition supported  [[League of Nations]] sanctions against [[Fascist Italy]], as did the [[Dominion]]s. The government hoped that strong sanctions against Italy might discourage [[Nazi Germany]] from similar actions, and won the [[1935 United Kingdom general election|November general election]] with a pro-League platform.<ref name="gunther1940">{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.149663/2015.149663.Inside-Europe#page/n299/mode/2up | title=Inside Europe | publisher=Harper & Brothers | author=Gunther, John | authorlink=John Gunther | location=New York | year=1940 | pages=277–280}}</ref>

On 8 December 1935, British Foreign Secretary [[Samuel Hoare, 1st Viscount Templewood|Sir Samuel Hoare]] discussed with his French counterpart [[Pierre Laval]] (who was both Prime Minister and Foreign Minister) how to end the war. On 9 December British newspapers revealed leaked details of an agreement by the two men to give much of Ethiopia to Italy to end the war. The British Cabinet had not approved the preliminary plan, but decided to support it to not embarrass Hoare.{{r|gunther1940}}