Bonjour,


J'ai une compréhension en anglais :


Two great leaders

Most of the leaders in the world today are women. Why? Are men better leaders than

women? If we look back at history, we see that this is certainly not true. Two of

England’s most famous monarchs were women, Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Victoria.

These were the years when England‘s influence in the world was the strongest.

Elizabeth was the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, the second of Henry’s six

wives. She was one of England’s best educated monarchs. She spoke Latin, French,

Italian and Spanish. She was an energetic and charismatic leader. Her people adored

her. She reigned for forty-five years, from 1558 to 1603. In those days, Members of

Parliament had very little power, and it was Elizabeth who made all the important

decisions. She helped to unite the country(1) by establishing the Church of England(2), a

compromise between Catholicism and Protestantism. Abroad(3) she defeated(4) Spain,

the world’s most powerful country.

When she died, England was the strongest and richest country in Europe.

Victoria was only seventeen when she became queen. She reigned for sixty-three

years. Like Elizabeth, she was a great and popular monarch. But she did not have the

power of Elizabeth I. When Victoria was queen, from 1837 to 1901, Parliament was

much stronger than before. The real power was in the hands of her Prime Minister,

Palmerston Disraeli and Gladstone.

It was in the Victorian age that England changed from an agricultural to a modern,

industrial country. Her reign saw enormous political, social, industrial and scientific

changes. The railway and the telephone began, the old aristocracy lost their power to

new middle classes. Abroad, great ships took Britain’s power across the sea to India,

Africa and Australia.

At the end of Victoria’s reign, Britain was the leader of a vast empire.




Elizabeth and Queen Victoria had long reigns: How long have both queens reigned and
when?


What did the two queens have in common?


Was Queen Victoria as powerful as Elizabeth I and why?


How was the country at the end of their reign?