Abyssinia Crisis Abyssinia to Mussolini, so his troops were able to continue their war relatively unchallenged by the rest of Europe. Haile Selassie was forced into exile on 2 May. All the sanctions that had been put in place by the League were dropped after the Italian capture of the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa on the 5th of May 1936. Ethiopia was then merged with the other Italian colonies to become Italian East Africa ("Africa Orientale Italiana", or AOI). Ethiopia never officially surrendered, and pleaded for help from foreign nations, such as Haile Selassie's . As a result, there were six
HMS Abyssinia (1870) Constructor to order two ships of the "Cerberus" class. After the placing of the order for "Magdala", budgetary limitations meant that a smaller, cheaper vessel had to be acquired. "Abyssinia", while being similar in layout to "Magdala", was smaller and cost £20,000 less. She had slightly less freeboard, a shorter breastwork, could carry less coal and had about one knot less speed. The ferry trip out to her base in Bombay was made under her own power, without the use of any sail whatsoever. Unlike her half-sisters, the hull was not built up for the trip, which she made in