Tory Party was a conservative political party in Britain. The term came from a Gaelic word meaning pursued or pursued man, and was used in the mid-1600’s to mean an Irish outlaw. The word was first used in English politics in 1679 to refer to those who wanted James, Duke of York, to succeed to the throne.
Eventually, the Tory Party became one of the two chief political parties in Britain. The Tories favored maintaining the legal privileges of the Church of England and the powers of the king. Their chief opponents, the Whigs, were in favor of increasing the power of the people in the House of Commons. After 1832, the name Conservative began to replace the term Tory. During the Revolutionary War in America (1775-1783), those colonists who remained loyal to King George III were referred to as Tories. Today, supporters of Britain’s Conservative Party are sometimes referred to as Tories.
