89 years ago today, on May 9, 1936 (March 19, 1936 in the lunar calendar), Italy occupied Ethiopia. An Italian column camped near Gondar, Ethiopia. On the evening of May 9, 1936, Mussolini's Venetian Palace was brightly lit, and people flocked to the square. Mussolini announced that Italy had occupied all of Ethiopia. "At last Italy has her empire," Mussolini boasted to cheers. "It is a fascist empire, because it has the same indestructible will and power as the Roman Empire." Ethiopia, Mussolini said, has officially belonged to Italy. Victor Imanville, the king of Italy, will also become king of the empire. Marshal Pietro Badoglio, the victorious general, has been appointed governor-general. He will govern this neo-colonial territory in Africa. Four days ago, Badoglio entered Addis Ababa. After Haile-Selassie's hasty retreat, part of the capital city has been devastated and burned. When Badoglio entered the city, Italian soldiers and Ethiopian civilians cheered him in long lines. Although the war is over, the League of Nations in Geneva has not said that it will lift sanctions against Italy. Mussolini himself is trying to ease relations with Britain. "Trust me," the prime minister told the Daily Mail, "Italy's victory in East Africa has put her in the ranks of world powers."