ve ever since divided the government of the country between them.

The term "Whig" was originally given by way of reproach to the Scotch
Puritans, or Covenanters, who refused to accept the Episcopacy which
Charles I endeavored to impose upon them (S438). "Tory," on the other
hand, was a nickname which appears to have first been applied to the
Roman Catholic outlaws of Ireland, who were regarded by Elizabeth and
by Cromwell as both robbers and rebels (S453).

The name of "Tory" was now given to those who supported the claims of
the King's brother James, the Roman Catholic Duke of York, as
successor to the throne; while that of "Whig" (or "Country Party") was
borne by those who were endeavoring to exclude him (S478), and secure
a Protestant successor.[1]

[1] Politically, the Whigs and Tories may perhaps be considered as the
successors of the Roundheads and Cavaliers of the civil war, the
former seeking to limit the power of the Crown, the latter to extend
it. At the Restoration (1660), the Cavaliers were all-powerful; but
at the time of the dispute on the Exclusiiion Bill (1679), the
Roundhead, or People's party, had revived. On account of their
petitioning the King to summon a new Parliament, by means of which
they hoped to carry the bill shutting out the Catholic Duke of York
from the throne, they were called "Petitioners," and later, "Whigs";
while those who expressed their abhorrence of their efforts were
called "Abhorrers," and afterwards, "Tories." The more radical Whigs
came to be known as the "Country Party," and at least one of their
most prominent leaders, Algernon Sidney, was in favor of restoring the
republican form of government in England.

The excitement over this Exclusion Bill (S478) threatened at one
period to bring on another civil war. In his fury against the Whigs,
Charles revoked the charters of London and many other cities, which
were regranted only on terms agreeable to the Tories. An actual
outbreak against the government would probably have occurred had it
not been for the discovery of a new conspiracy, which resulted in a
reaction favorable to the Crown.

480. The Rye-House Plot (1683).

This conspiracy, known as the "Rye-House Plot," had for its object the
murder of Charles and his brother James at a place called the Rye
House in Hertfordshire, not far from London. It was concocted by a
number of violent Whigs, who, in their disappointment at their failure
to secure the passage o