The History of England The Rage of Party with George Owers
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Feb 15, 2026 George Owers, historian and author of The Rage of Party, explores late 17th–early 18th century British politics. He traces the rise of Whig and Tory identities from the Popish Plot and Exclusion crisis. He maps how the Glorious Revolution, war, patronage, and violent elections reshaped power, the Lords, Jacobitism, and the creation of Britain and modern finance.
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Anti-Catholic Paranoia Shaped Politics
- Anti-Catholic fear fused religion and politics into a potent national paranoia in the 1670s and 1680s.
- That paranoia allowed the Popish Plot and Exclusion movement to reshape party alignments into Whigs and Tories.
Whig–Tory Divide Was Constitutional And Religious
- The Whig–Tory split centred on whether Parliament could alter succession and on attitudes toward dissenters versus the Church of England.
- Whigs allied with dissent and commercial interests while Tories defended Anglican establishment and hereditary succession.
Glorious Revolution Made Parliament Permanent
- The Glorious Revolution made Parliament permanent and strengthened its leverage by making regular supply essential.
- In practice this shifted power toward Parliament while leaving many royal prerogatives intact.
