Kirk Party
Encyclopedia
The Kirk Party were a radical Presbyterian faction of the Scottish
Covenanters during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms
. They came to the fore after the defeat of the Engagers
faction in 1648 at the hands of Oliver Cromwell
and the English Parliament. They purged the Covenanter's General Assembly and army of "unGodly elements" and crowned Charles II
as King of Scotland in 1651, in return for his explicit endorsement of their religious and political agenda in the Treaty of Breda (1650)
.
The Kirk party's religious zeal did not help their cause militarily. In the month before the Battle of Dunbar
they chose to institute a searching three day examination of the political and religious sentiments of the Scottish army. The result was that the army was purged of "Malignants", 80 officers and 3000 experienced soldiers, while it lay within musket shot of the enemy. Their ranks were to some extent made up with replacements with strong spiritual beliefs but little military experience. The Kirk party were therefore discredited when their army was routed by Cromwell's New Model Army
at the Battle of Dunbar, in September 1650.
Thereafter, a more representative faction came to the fore in Scottish politics, which tried to reconcile (at least temporarily) the different factions of the Covenanters and Scottish Royalists to resist the English Parliamentarian invasion of Scotland. However, they in turn were defeated at the battle of Worcester
in 1651, leading eventually to Scotland's annexation into the English Commonwealth.
The Kirk party were disparagingly called "whiggamores" or "whigs" by their Scottish opponents (See the Whiggamore Raid
). The nickname was later applied (equally offensively) to those, headed by Anthony Ashley Cooper, Earl of Shaftesbury
, calling for the exclusion of James, Duke of York from the English throne on the grounds of his Catholicism.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
Covenanters during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms
Wars of the Three Kingdoms
The Wars of the Three Kingdoms formed an intertwined series of conflicts that took place in England, Ireland, and Scotland between 1639 and 1651 after these three countries had come under the "Personal Rule" of the same monarch...
. They came to the fore after the defeat of the Engagers
Engagers
The Engagers were a faction of the Scottish Covenanters, who made "The Engagement" with King Charles I in December 1647 while he was imprisoned in Carisbrooke Castle by the English Parliamenterians after his defeat in the First Civil War....
faction in 1648 at the hands of Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
and the English Parliament. They purged the Covenanter's General Assembly and army of "unGodly elements" and crowned Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
as King of Scotland in 1651, in return for his explicit endorsement of their religious and political agenda in the Treaty of Breda (1650)
Treaty of Breda (1650)
The Treaty of Breda was signed on 1 May 1650 between Charles II and the Scottish Covenanters during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.-Background:...
.
The Kirk party's religious zeal did not help their cause militarily. In the month before the Battle of Dunbar
Battle of Dunbar (1650)
The Battle of Dunbar was a battle of the Third English Civil War. The English Parliamentarian forces under Oliver Cromwell defeated a Scottish army commanded by David Leslie which was loyal to King Charles II, who had been proclaimed King of Scots on 5 February 1649.-Background:The English...
they chose to institute a searching three day examination of the political and religious sentiments of the Scottish army. The result was that the army was purged of "Malignants", 80 officers and 3000 experienced soldiers, while it lay within musket shot of the enemy. Their ranks were to some extent made up with replacements with strong spiritual beliefs but little military experience. The Kirk party were therefore discredited when their army was routed by Cromwell's New Model Army
New Model Army
The New Model Army of England was formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians in the English Civil War, and was disbanded in 1660 after the Restoration...
at the Battle of Dunbar, in September 1650.
Thereafter, a more representative faction came to the fore in Scottish politics, which tried to reconcile (at least temporarily) the different factions of the Covenanters and Scottish Royalists to resist the English Parliamentarian invasion of Scotland. However, they in turn were defeated at the battle of Worcester
Battle of Worcester
The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 at Worcester, England and was the final battle of the English Civil War. Oliver Cromwell and the Parliamentarians defeated the Royalist, predominantly Scottish, forces of King Charles II...
in 1651, leading eventually to Scotland's annexation into the English Commonwealth.
The Kirk party were disparagingly called "whiggamores" or "whigs" by their Scottish opponents (See the Whiggamore Raid
Whiggamore Raid
The Whiggamore Raid was a march on Edinburgh by supporters of the Kirk party of the Covenanters to take power from the Engagers whose army had recently been defeated by the English New Model Army at the Battle of Preston ....
). The nickname was later applied (equally offensively) to those, headed by Anthony Ashley Cooper, Earl of Shaftesbury
Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury
Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury PC , known as Anthony Ashley Cooper from 1621 to 1631, as Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper, 2nd Baronet from 1631 to 1661, and as The Lord Ashley from 1661 to 1672, was a prominent English politician during the Interregnum and during the reign of King Charles...
, calling for the exclusion of James, Duke of York from the English throne on the grounds of his Catholicism.