Prominent Loyalists repeatedly assured the British government that many thousands of them would spring to arms and fight for the Crown. The British government acted in expectation of that, especially during the Southern campaigns of 1780 and 1781. Britain was able to effectively protect the people only in areas where they had military control, and in return, the number of military Loyalists was significantly lower than what had been expected.

Lol. That sounds familiar.

[–] DaMonsterKnees@lemmy.world 17 points 7 months ago (5 children)

Came here to say this, so thank you for the coverage. Also interesting, I mean, aren't crown loyal people still called Tories or some such? Forgive my ignorance, I'm West Atlantic (omg, I just made that up to say American, and I think I'm sticking with it.)

"It may just be my poor, West Atlantic education, but..."

[–] TIN@feddit.uk 22 points 7 months ago (1 children)

In the UK we still use Tories as a nickname for the conservative party, one of the two main parties in our political system and a kind of pound store republican party. They do indeed still feign royalism when it suits their purposes, some things never change.

[–] HawlSera@lemm.ee 21 points 7 months ago (1 children)

As an American, I always assumed Tories was the actual name of the Conservative Party, not their nickname.... learn something new every day

[–] nikita@sh.itjust.works 5 points 7 months ago (1 children)

It’s derived from Irish, originally meaning thieves or bandits if I recall correctly.

[–] HawlSera@lemm.ee 4 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

That still sounds accurate to the modus operandi of what I'm used to from a Conservative Party.

Though it infuriates me that a party can literally call themselves and be regularly referred to as "The thieves who want to eat your baby!", by EVEN THEIR SUPPORTERS, and still not only be considered a viable party, but have more or less become the majority party of their country......

It's got real "They call themselves Decepticons and you thought they'd honor a deal?" energy

[–] Nikko882@lemmy.world 3 points 7 months ago

I mean, in Norway we have the Pirate Party (that's their official name) and they seem like an alright bunch. It's a political party trying to champion online privacy.

[–] InputZero@lemmy.ml 11 points 7 months ago

Tories nowadays is typically used to describe a party which supports the establishment the most. So in the United Kingdom's the Tories typically support the Crown the most. In Commonwealth countries the Tories are usually synonymous with right-wing parties who are typically the most nationalist. However in many Commonwealth countries the right-wing is often more left leaning than the American left. This is of course trying to describe a wide array of political beliefs in broad strokes so I may be accurate but I'm sure as hell not precise.

[–] Switchblade@lemmy.ca 8 points 7 months ago

In Canada we call the conservatives Tories.

[–] Neato@ttrpg.network 5 points 7 months ago

Unsure about in the US. But the conservative party is nicknamed Tories in the UK.

[–] AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world 2 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

I dunno if you know it, but that really chipper dapper announcer voice from the 30s to 50s is referred to as the "Mid-Atlantic Accent."

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid-Atlantic_accent

[–] BananaOnionJuice@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 7 months ago

Most recent example: Expect 40.000 trucks at the border, something like 20 appears near the border and then it dissolves into nothing.