Tory Party
The Tory Party was a political party (or two) in the United Kingdom.
Contents
History
The first party emerged during the reign of Charles II and particularly through the Exclusion Crisis. The Parliament sought to bar James, Duke of York from succession on the basis of his Catholic faith. Nationalist Scots rallied around this cause, creating a pervasive 'rebel' identity known as Tories. While some Tories did win election to the Commons (or more commonly, bought pocket boroughs to sit in the Lords), there was no centralized political body to coordinate these politicians, and the 'party' remained on the fringe of governance.
While the Whigs ultimately were defeated on this parliamentary issue, Charles' victory was simultaneously a defeating blow to the Tory platform, as centralization of the crown's over faith necessarily vested royal power into the Anglican Church. Furthermore, civil unrest forced the issue again upon succession; and forced even some Tories, such as Churchill, to join in the Glorious Revolution and the deposition of James II.
The reign of William and Mary saw both Tories and Whigs invited into mixed government. Particularly through the crown's fatigue with the War of Spanish Succession, a Whig Junto (i.e., Somers, Montagu, Wharton, and Russell) entered power. Only the 'moderate' Tories, Churchill and Godolphin, remained in ministry. This arrangement radicalized the wider Tory Party, and pushed the Country Whigs led by Harley to merge into the Tory Party.
The party finally rose to prominence under Anne. In 1710, in the context of the Sacheverell riots, she dissolved the Whig Junto government and appointed a Tory government led by Harley and St John. The Treaty of Utrecht was pushed through the Parliament over Whig opposition by the rapid creation of new Tory peerages.
The party was entirely sidelined during the reign of George I. Whig dominance became so stable that politics were largely a reflection of factional divisions within that party. Jacobite sympathies became pervasive in the party, and following a failed rebellion in 1716, the party became politically minimal.
Some Tories returned to prominence, such as Stuart who had been an advisor and confidante to George III and entered government after his succession. However, they operated entirely within the Whig Party structure.
The Whig faction led by Pitt came to be referred to as the second Tory Party, but it was a transient party and an unofficial term.
In some important ways, the second party evolved into the modern Conservative Party, which itself was founded in the 19th century.