On the 330th anniversary of the
Glorious Revolution – the historical significance of the English Civil
War (Part Three)
By Mark Wegierski
web posted April 9, 2018
Political Allegiances: Broadly speaking, these were between
Tories and Whigs (as these terms were defined in the second half of the
seventeenth century). The term "Tory" is derived from the Irish Gaelic,
toraidhe, from a phrase
meaning "Come, O King". The term “Tory�? was
originally used as a term of abuse denoting an "Irish Papist or
Royalist bandit", with the added meaning of "the pursued". The term
Toryism at this time referred to a creed embracing the belief in the
ultimate supremacy of the monarchy in the realm (with Parliament a
distinct but junior partner) which was justified as constituting the
ultimate, organic, and unifying element of the kingdom. Religiously, it
generally embraced Roman Catholicism, or Anglicanism, or the Scottish
Episcopal Church. Royalist is another general term, while Cavalier is
used to describe this side in the English Civil War itself. The term
Cavalier, roughly equivalent to "knight", "gentleman", or "armed
horseman" was derived from the medieval French chévalier. The stereotypical image
of the Cavalier was as a horseman in a fancy, "musketeer-type" hat,
richly-dressed, with long, flowing hair behind, sword in hand. The
Cavalier lifestyle was said to be uninhibited, including a large
element of "wine, women, and song". The term is also used in the study
of English literature to describe the so-called Cavalier poets of the
same period, who embraced similar themes in their work. The primary
meaning of the word today, through the adjective "cavalier", is largely
negative, meaning "rude" or "disdainful". This could be seen to reflect
the perception which ultimately prevailed as a result of that conflict,
which saw the traits typical of an aristocrat or nobleman as
excessively arrogant.
The term Whig was derived from the shortening of the Lowland Scottish
word whiggamore, which was
originally a form of a cry used for herding horses or cattle. It had
been adopted as a battle-shout of the most radical faction of the
Presbyterian Covenant in Lowlands Scotland. The term was extended to
refer to advocates of the ultimate supremacy of Parliament in the
English constitution, which was justified as being the best political
arrangement: as a so-called mixed constitution of checks and balances
(King-in-Parliament, House of Lords, House of Commons); and as the best
guarantee of certain so-called "ancient rights of Englishmen", which
were to be enshrined in the constitution. The term Parliamentarian is
used to describe this side in the English Civil War. Roundhead, often
used as a synonym for Parliamentarian, refers more specifically to
Puritan soldiers, and was derived from the closely-cropped hair typical
of Cromwell's cavalry. The stereotypical Roundhead wore the "lobster"
helmet and a plain coat of hard leather, with no vain adornments. One
should note a degree of divergence between the Parliamentarians and
Roundheads, as Cromwell eventually came to rule as Lord Protector.
Ultimately, however (after 1688) the Parliamentarian position won out.
Dynastic Allegiances: The Stuarts, originally Kings of Scotland, had
come to the throne of England in the person of James VI (of Scotland)
and I (of England). The term Jacobites (derived from the Latinized name
of James -- Jacobus) referred
to partisans of the Stuarts in the period to the middle of the
eighteenth century. In 1688, the so-called Glorious Revolution in
England had effectively deposed King James VII and II. The emphatically
Protestant William of Orange was brought over from Holland to England
as King William III. Upon his death, the Protestant Hanoverians were
drafted to keep the Catholic Stuarts from the throne.
Territorial Allegiances: Ireland was an almost exclusively Roman
Catholic society, although there was an ongoing influx of English and
Protestant settlers, in the so-called Pale of Settlement. Ironically,
the spark for the English Civil War was a great Irish Catholic rising
against the English in Ireland. Charles I needed money to raise troops
to prosecute the war, which Parliament refused to grant, suspecting
they were more likely to be used at home. The King managed to reach an
effective truce with the Irish when the fighting began in England.
Scotland was at this time a kingdom unified with England only in the
person of the monarch, with its own Parliament, law-courts, system of
customary law, foreign relations, and coinage. The term "Auld
Alliance", for example, refers to the traditional close ties between
Scotland and France. It was divided between the basically Jacobite
Royalist Highlands, and the Whig-oriented Lowlands, although even the
Scottish Presbyterians had a degree of allegiance to their native
Stuart dynasty. All Scots participated in the great invasion of England
in 1648 (at the behest of Charles I), but their army, three times
larger than Cromwell's, was decisively defeated at Preston.
In England, support for the King, at the beginning of the war, was
centered in Wales, Cornwall, and northern England, and Wales and
Cornwall were the last Royalist bastions in England.
To be continued. 
Mark Wegierski is a Canadian
writer and historical researcher.