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 and England in 1650, in return for his explicit endorsment of their religious and political agenda. the Kirk party were themselves discredited when their army was routed by Cromwell's New Model Army at the battle of Dunbar, in 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. Presbyterianism is part of the Reformed churches family of denominations of Christian Protestantism based on the teachings of John Calvin which traces its institutional roots to the Scottish Reformation, especially as led by John Knox. ... Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Alba) is a country in northwest Europe, occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain. ... The Covenanters, named after the Solemn League and Covenant, were a party that, originating in the Reformation movement, played an important part in the history of Scotland, and to a lesser extent in that of England, during the 17th century. ... The Wars of the Three Kingdoms include an intertwined series of conflicts that took place in Scotland, Ireland, and England between 1639 and 1651 which included the Bishops Wars of 1639 and 1640, the Scottish Civil War of 1644-5; the Irish Rebellion of 1641, Confederate Ireland, 1642-9 and... The Engagers in Scottish history were a moderate faction of the Covenanter movement, who ruled Scotland during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. ... Unfinished portrait miniature of Oliver Cromwell by Samuel Cooper, 1657. ... The name Charles II is used to refer to numerous persons in history: Kings: Charles the Fat (also known as Charles II of France and Charles III of the Holy Roman Empire) Charles II of England Charles II of Naples Charles II of Navarre Charles II of Romania Charles II... The New Model Army became the best known of the various Parliamentarian armies in the English Civil War. ... There were two Battles of Dunbar: Battle of Dunbar (1296), in the Wars of Scottish Independence. ... The Battle of Worcester was the final battle of the Second English Civil War. ... The Commonwealth was the republican government which ruled first England and then the whole of Britain, Ireland, the colonies and other Crown possessions during the periods from 1649 (the monarch Charles I being beheaded on January 30 and An Act declaring England to be a Commonwealth being passed by the...

The Kirk party were disparagingly called "whiggamores" or "whigs" by their Scotish opponents, a word that usually referred to cattle thieves from the border regions. The nickname was later applied (equally offensively) to supporters of the Glorious Revolution 50 years later by their Jacobite opponents. This article is about the British Whig party. ... The term Glorious Revolution refers to the generally popular overthrow of James II of England in 1688. ... Jacobite refers to: A follower of Jacobitism, the political movement dedicated to the return of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England and Scotland A member of the Jacobite Orthodox Church of Syria. ...

See also

• History of Scotland
• Scottish Civil War