Fiche de révision : Margaret Thatcher et l’Empire britannique

📋 Plan du Cours

1. Margaret Thatcher et son surnom
2. Thatcher face aux femmes au pouvoir
3. Le programme économique conservateur
4. La guerre des Falkland
5. Le pouvoir politique britannique
6. La guerre froide et le leadership
7. La monarchie britannique et l’Empire
8. Les territoires britanniques d’outre-mer
9. La voix passive anglaise
10. Points de langue et vocabulaire

📅 Repères chronologiques

1. 1837 to 1901Queen Victoria reigned during the peak of British dominance
2. 1952 to 2022Queen Elizabeth II reigned and was the longest-serving monarch in British history
3. 1982Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands, and Thatcher sent British troops to take them back
4. 1997Hong Kong was transferred to China, an event Prince Charles described as the end of the Empire

📖 1. Margaret Thatcher et son surnom

🔑 Notions clés & Définitions

• Margaret Thatcher : the first female British Prime Minister who served from 1979 to 1990
• Iron Lady : dubbed “The Iron Lady” because she was tough, strategic and inflexible

📝 Points essentiels

• Margaret Thatcher was Conservative and introduced privatization and decreased government spending.

💡 Astuce mémo

Une femme d’acier incarnant la fermeté politique

📖 2. Thatcher face aux femmes au pouvoir

🔑 Notions clés & Définitions

• To patronize : To patronize someone means to take that person from above or treat them as inferior.

📝 Points essentiels

📌 Thatcher believed that women generally tended not to be suited to high office because they became too emotional.

• The paradox is that Thatcher was a woman and a powerful Prime Minister, like the Queen.

💡 Astuce mémo

Thatcher critique les femmes au pouvoir alors qu’elle-même est Première ministre

📖 3. Le programme économique conservateur

★ À maîtriser

• 🔄 The programme pursued the following objectives:

  1. bring public-sector borrowing under control
  2. bring inflation under control
  3. implement fiscal correction

• Thatcher wanted to reduce government spending, and her economic programme was considered ambitious.

Compléments

• A member of Thatcher’s administration described her plan as “butchery”.

💡 Astuce mémo

Réduire les dépenses et l’inflation → une réforme économique ambitieuse

📖 4. La guerre des Falkland

★ À maîtriser

• The Falklands War lasted 10 weeks and ended with Argentina’s surrender on June 14, 1982.

• The military victory strengthened Thatcher’s reputation as the Iron Lady and helped propel her to a second term in 1983.

Compléments

• Around 900 lives were taken during the Falklands War.

💡 Astuce mémo

Invasion argentine → envoi des troupes britanniques → victoire britannique

📖 5. Le pouvoir politique britannique

🔑 Notions clés & Définitions

• Parliament britannique : bicameral and consists of the House of Lords and the House of Commons

📝 Points essentiels

• The House of Commons contains 650 elected Members of Parliament.

• 🔄 The appointment follows these steps:

  1. a party wins the general election
  2. its leader becomes Prime Minister
  3. the monarchy appoints the Prime Minister

📖 6. La guerre froide et le leadership

🔑 Notions clés & Définitions

• Guerre froide : a period of unarmed conflict between the United States and the USSR, opposing communism and capitalism

★ À maîtriser

• Thatcher was deeply opposed to communism and vocally expressed that opposition.

Compléments

• Expected qualities include:
  • calm
  • diplomatic
  • strong
  • strategic
  • efficient
  • inspiring
  • charismatic
  • confident
  • determined
  • eloquent

💡 Astuce mémo

Communisme contre capitalisme derrière le rideau de fer

📖 7. La monarchie britannique et l’Empire

📝 Points essentiels

• When Elizabeth II was crowned, the United Kingdom had 50 overseas territories, but when she died only 14 remained.

💡 Astuce mémo

Apogée victorienne → déclin impérial → derniers territoires britanniques

📖 8. Les territoires britanniques d’outre-mer

🔑 Notions clés & Définitions

• British Overseas Territories : remnants or vestiges of the British Empire

★ À maîtriser

• At its peak, the British Empire ruled about 25% of the world’s population.

• The British Overseas Territories are valuable because they deter enemies, provide tax havens, attract tourists, contain resources such as oil and protect remarkable wildlife.

Compléments

• The British Overseas Territories are scattered across the globe and are so remote that many people do not know they exist or that they are British.

💡 Astuce mémo

Éloignement des îles → ressources et intérêts stratégiques pour le Royaume-Uni

📖 9. La voix passive anglaise

★ À maîtriser

📌 The English passive voice is formed with the auxiliary BE followed by the past participle, and BE takes the tense of the active verb.

• The active sentence “The British returned Hong Kong to China in 1997” becomes “Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997 by the British.”

Compléments

📌 When the agent is not expressed, the English passive is often translated into French with “on”.

• With verbs of opinion, English can use “It is said that he is having an affair” or “He is said to be having an affair.”

💡 Astuce mémo

BE + participe passé

📖 10. Points de langue et vocabulaire

🔑 Notions clés & Définitions

• To be suited : meant or appropriate for something
• Lack of grit : a lack of courage or determination

★ À maîtriser

📌 “Every day” means each day, whereas “everyday” is an adjective meaning ordinary or daily.

Compléments

• “A million” is a number expression, whereas “million” can be used without the article in expressions such as “two million”.

💡 Astuce mémo

Every day signifie chaque jour, whereas everyday signifie quotidien

📊 Tableaux de synthèse

Les deux grandes figures monarchiques