Results of Violation

Abstract

History convinced Mussolini that war with Britain was inevitable. Spanish intervention, although more costly than originally anticipated, did not change his opinion, nor for that matter his self confidence. Put the following epitaph on my tomb, he told Ciano: “Here lies one of the most intelligent animals to appear on the face of the earth.” The belief that Britain was blocking his way to greatness made him determined to cause her humiliation. Mussolini found Eden’s insistence on Non-Intervention annoying. After the failure to hold tripartite discussions, Eden suggested that Ciano meet him in Brussels. Ciano was delighted; “all the searchlights of world wide publicity,” he wrote, “will concentrate on the Eden-Ciano talks.”¹ But Mussolini did not consider it opportune, and the offer was coldly dismissed. Eden, tired of being continually rebuked, gave a speech in Parliament on November 1st (regarded by Ciano as very hostile) in which he said:

It is nations’ foreign policies, not their internal policies, with which we are concerned. We will work wholeheartedly with other nations who are like-minded with us, and there are many such. We offer cooperation to all, but we will accept dictation from none.