Who were the Whigs and Tories?

[TechBear]

:rolleyes:

For that, I turn to the generally reliable Wikipedia:

British Whig Party

The term Whig originated during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, when it was used to derisively refer to a radical faction of the Scottish Covenanters who called themselves the "Kirk Party". It entered English political discourse during the Exclusion Bill crisis of 1678-1681. The Whigs (or Petitioners) supported the exclusion of the Catholic Duke of York from the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland because of his association with absolutism and unchecked royal power; the Tories (or Abhorrers) opposed this exclusion. Both names were originally opprobious terms: whiggamor is a Scottish Gaelic word for a cattle or horse driver, while tory is an Irish word for an outlaw (see also rapparee).

Tories

The term originates from the Wars of the Three Kingdoms and English Civil War of the 1640s and '50s, when it was used to describe Irish guerrilla fighters. For this usage, see Rapparees. It entered English politics during the Exclusion Bill crisis of 1678–1681. The Whigs (initially an insult — whiggamore, a cattle driver) were those who supported the exclusion of James VII & II from the thrones of Scotland and England & Ireland (the "Petitioners"), and the Tories (from the Irish term tóraidhe, modern Irish tóraí — outlaw, robber) were those who opposed it (the Abhorrers). The Irish word tóir means "pursuit". This is what ensued when highwaymen met their victims.

Use the links to see the full articles. At the top of each article is a link to the subject's disambiguation page, where you can follow up on different meanings of "Whig" and "Tory". Also of possible interest is the article on Jacobitism, about the Jacobite movement which is central to the Rob Roy history.