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An overview of the political turmoil that went on in Britain in the lead up to the Falklands War in 1982: In 1982, Argentina, which had long claimed the Falklands, invaded the islands and declared sovereignty over them. The Conservative government, led by Margaret Thatcher, sent a task force to recover the islands. Despite some public scepticism and considerable logistical difficulties, they were recaptured. Success in the Falklands helped exorcise memories of Suez. It played a major part in the Conservative landslide election victory of 1983 and so contributed to the success of what came to be called Thatcherism. The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:
