Abhorrers

The Abhorrers were a political faction in late 17th-century England who emerged during the Exclusion Crisis (1679–1681) to express their "abhorrence" of the popular petitions demanding the exclusion of the Catholic James, Duke of York, from the royal succession.

Background and the Exclusion Crisis

The origins of the Abhorrers are deeply rooted in the Exclusion Crisis, a period of intense political turmoil during the reign of King Charles II. The crisis was precipitated by the revelation that the King's brother and heir presumptive, James, Duke of York, had converted to Roman Catholicism. Fearing a return to absolute monarchy and Catholic dominance, a faction of politicians, later known as the Whigs, sought to pass the Exclusion Bill to bar James from the throne. To pressure Charles II into summoning Parliament and passing the bill, this faction organized a massive nationwide petitioning campaign in 1679 and 1680. Those who signed these petitions became known as the "Petitioners."

The Abhorring Movement

In response to the Petitioners' campaign, supporters of the Crown, the royal prerogative, and the legitimate line of succession organized a counter-movement. They drafted and circulated addresses and petitions to the King, expressing their "abhorrence" of the Petitioners' actions, which they viewed as seditious, rebellious, and an infringement on the royal prerogative. The signatories of these counter-petitions became known as the "Abhorrers." The movement was highly organized, utilizing the existing networks of the Church of England and local magistrates to gather signatures. The Abhorrers argued that the right to determine the succession belonged solely to the monarch and that the Petitioners were attempting to usurp royal authority, drawing alarming parallels to the English Civil War.

Support Base and Key Figures

The Abhorrers drew their primary support from the traditional pillars of the English establishment: the Anglican clergy, the landed gentry, and the conservative nobility. The Church of England played a crucial role in the movement, with many bishops and parish priests actively encouraging their congregations to sign the addresses of abhorrence. The movement was championed by prominent royalists and high-churchmen who believed in the divine right of kings and the doctrine of non-resistance. While King Charles II himself remained publicly aloof to maintain a veneer of neutrality, he privately encouraged and utilized the Abhorrers to demonstrate that the Petitioners did not represent the entirety of the political nation.

Evolution into the Tory Party

The terminology used during the Exclusion Crisis had a lasting impact on British political vocabulary. Initially, both "Whig" and "Tory" were used as pejorative terms. "Whig" was a Scottish term for horse thieves or radical Covenanters, applied to the Petitioners to imply they were rebellious and anti-monarchical. "Tory" was an Irish term for Catholic outlaws or bandits, applied to the Abhorrers to suggest they were sympathetic to Catholicism and arbitrary power. Over time, however, the factions embraced these labels. The Abhorrers gradually became known as the Tories, forming the ideological and organizational basis of the modern Conservative Party, while the Petitioners became the Whigs, the predecessors of the Liberal Party.

Historical Significance

The emergence of the Abhorrers and their counterparts, the Petitioners, marks a critical juncture in the development of the British party system. The organized nature of the petitioning and counter-petitioning campaigns demonstrated the mobilization of public opinion outside of Parliament, representing an early form of modern political campaigning. Furthermore, the ideological divide between the two groups—centering on the balance of power between the Crown and Parliament, the role of the established church, and the rules of succession—defined British politics for the next century. The Abhorrers' successful defense of the hereditary succession ensured that James, Duke of York, eventually ascended the throne as James II, setting the stage for the subsequent Glorious Revolution of 1688.