Where do the words Tory and Whigs come from?
Whigs and Tories were the 2 political parties during the late 17th century up until the mid 19th century. Whigs wanted the revolution, while the conservative Tories wanted to stay the way they were. Wikipedia says that The term Whig originated during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms when it was used to refer derisively 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) opposed the hereditary ascendance of the Catholic Duke of York, future James II, to the thrones of England, Ireland, and Scotland. The Tories (or Abhorrers) supported him. Both names were originally negative terms: whiggamor is a Scottish Gaelic word for a cattle or horse drover.
