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 2 years 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 2 years 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 2 years ago

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

[–] InputZero@lemmy.ml 11 points 2 years 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 2 years ago

In Canada we call the conservatives Tories.

[–] Neato@ttrpg.network 5 points 2 years ago

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

[–] AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years 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 2 years ago

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