Party Labels in the Mid Eighteenth Century England Reading Answers

Mar 16, 2024

Party Labels in the Mid Eighteenth Century England Reading Answers is an academic reading answers topic. Party Labels in the Mid Eighteenth Century England Reading Answers have a total of 11 IELTS questions in total. This topic has 5 questions in which we have to fill up the black choosing appropriate words from paragraphs. The next 6 questions are true false and Not Given. You need to refer the passage and select the correct answer.

Candidates should read the IELTS Reading passage thoroughly to recognize synonyms, identify keywords, and answer the questions below. IELTS Reading practice papers, which feature topics such as Party labels in the mid eighteenth century england Reading Answers. Candidates can use IELTS reading practice questions and answers to enhance their performance in the reading section.

Check: Get 10 Free IELTS Sample Papers
Check: Register for IELTS Coaching - Join for Free Trial Class Now

Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

Party Labels in Mid-Eighteenth Century England

Until the late 1950s the Whig interpretation of English history in the eighteenth century prevailed. This was successfully challenged by Lewis Namier, who proposed, based on an analysis of the voting records of MPs from the 1760 intake following the accession to the throne of George Ill, that the accepted Whig/Tory division of politics did not hold. He believed that the political life of the period could be explained without these party labels, and that it was more accurate to characterise political division in terms of the Court versus Country.
An attempt was then made to use the same methodology to determine whether the same held for early eighteenth century politics. To Nomier's chagrin this proved that at the end of Queen Anne's reign in 1714 voting in parlioment was certainly based on party interest, and that Toryism and Whiggism were distinct and opposed political philosophies. Clearly, something momentous had occurred between 1714 and 1760 to apparently wipe out party ideology. The Namierite explanation is that the end of the Stuart dynasty on the death of Queen Anne and the beginning of the Hanoverian with the accession of George I radically altere the political climate.
The accession of George I to the throne In 1715 was not universally popular. He was German, spoke little English, and was only accepted because he promised to maintain the Anglican religion. Furthermore, for those Tory members of government under Anne he was nemesis, for his enthronement finally broke the hereditary principle central to Tory philosophy, confirming the right of parliament to depose or select a monarch. Moreover, he was aware that leading Tories had been in constant communication with the Stuart court in exile, hoping to return the banished King James II. As a result, all Tories were expelled from government some being forced to escape to France to avoid execution for treason.
The failure of the subsequent Jacobite rebellion of 1715, where certain Tory magnates tried to replace George with his cousin James, a Stuart, albeit a Catholic, was used by the Whig administration to identify the word 'Tory' with treason. This was compounded by the Septennial Act of 1716, limiting elections to once every seven years, which further entrenched the Whig's power base at the heart of government focussed around the crown. With the eradication of one of the fundamental tenets of their philosophy alongside the systematiC replacement of all Tory positions by Whig counterparts, Tory opposition was effectively annihilated. There was, however, a grouping of Whigs In parliament who were not part of the government.
The MPs now generally referred to as the 'Independent Whigs' Inherently distrusted the power of the administration, dominated as it was by those called 'Court Whigs. The independent Whig was almost invoriably a country gentieman, and thus resisted the growth in power of those whose wealth was being made on the embryoniC stock market. For them the permanency of land meant potriotism, a direct interest in one's nation, whilst shares, easily transferable, could not be trusted. They saw their role as a check on the administration, a permanent guard against political corruption, the last line of defence of the mixed constitution of monarchy aristocrocy, and democracy. The reaction against the growing mercantile class was shared by the Tories, also generally landed country gentlemen. It Is thus Nomier's contention, and that of those who follow his work, that by the 1730s the Tories and the Independent Whigs had fused to form a Country opposition to the Court administration, thus explaining why voting records in 1760 do not follow standard party lines.
It must be recognised that this view is not universally espoused. Revisionist historians such as Linda Colley dispute that the Tory party was destroyed during this period, and assert the continuation of the Tories as a discrete and persistent group in opposition allied to the Independent Whigs but separate. Colley's thesis is persuasive, as it is clear that some, ot least, regarded themselves as Tories rather than Whigs. She is not so successful in proving the persistence either of party organisation beyond family connection or of ideology, beyond tradition. Furthermore, while the terms 'Tory' and 'Whig' were used frequently in the political press, it was a device of the administration rather than the opposition. As Harris notes in his analysis of the 'Patriot' press of the 1740s, there is hardly any discernible difference between Tory and Whig opposition pamphlets, both preferring to describe themselves as 'Country Interest', and attacking 'the Court.

Section 2

Solution and Explanation

Questions 30-34

Reading Passage 3 has 6 paragraphs (A-F). Choose the most suitable heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below. Write the appropriate numbers (i-x) in Boxes 30-34 on your answer sheet. There are more headings than paragraphs, so you will not use all of them.

Paragraph A

Answer: i
Supporting statement: “........Until the late 1950s the Whig interpretation of English history in the eighteenth century prevailed. This was successfully challenged by Lewis Namier, who proposed, based on an analysis of the voting records.........”
Keywords: Whig, Lewis Namier
Keyword Location: para A, line 1
Explanation: The paragraph discusses Lewis Namier challenging the prevailing Whig interpretation of English history in the eighteenth century.

Paragraph B

Answer: vi
Supporting statement: “........An attempt was then made to use the same methodology to determine whether the same held for early eighteenth century politics.........”
Keywords: politics, early eighteenth centur
Keyword Location: para B, line 1
Explanation: The paragraph mentions political divisions in the early 1700s.

Paragraph C

Answer: iv
Supporting statement: “.......The accession of George I to the throne In 1715 was not universally popular. He was German, spoke little English, and was only accepted because he promised to maintain the Anglican religion. ..........”
Keywords: promised, maintain
Keyword Location: para C, line 1
Explanation: The paragraph discusses the consequences of George I's accession to the throne.

Paragraph D

Answer: viii
Supporting statement: “.......The failure of the subsequent Jacobite rebellion of 1715, where certain Tory magnates tried to replace George with his cousin James, a Stuart, albeit a Catholic, was used by the Whig administration to identify the word 'Tory' with treason...........”
Keywords: magnates, treason
Keyword Location: para D, line 2
Explanation: The paragraph discusses the effective destruction of Tory opposition.

Paragraph E

Answer: ix
Supporting statement: “.......The MPs now generally referred to as the 'Independent Whigs' Inherently distrusted the power of the administration, dominated as it was by those called 'Court Whigs. ..........”
Keywords: inherently, dominated
Keyword Location: para E, line 1
Explanation: The paragraph mentions the fusion of the Independent Whigs and the Tory landowners.

List of Headings

The Whig/Tory division discounted
Maintaining the Anglican religion
The fusion theory challenged and supported
The consequences of George I's accession
The Tory landowners
Political divisions in the early 1700s
The failure of the Jacobean rebellion
The Tory opposition effectively destroyed
The fusion of the Independent whigs and The Tory landowners
The whig interpretation of history

Questions 35-40

Do the statements below agree with the information in Reading Passage 3? In Boxes 35-40, write:

Yes - if the statement agrees with the information in the passage
No - if the statement contradicts the information in the passage
Not Given - if there is no information about the statement in the passage

According to Namier, political divisions in the mid 18th century were not related to party labels.

Answer: YES
Supporting statement: “.......He believed that the political life of the period could be explained without these party labels, and that it was more accurate to characterise political division in terms of the Court versus Country...........”
Keywords: political, versus
Keyword Location: para A, line 5
Explanation: Namier proposed that the accepted Whig/Tory division of politics did not hold and that political division was more accurately characterized in terms of the Court versus Country.

According to Namier, something happened between 1714 and 1760 to affect party ideology.

Answer: YES
Supporting statement: “.......Clearly, something momentous had occurred between 1714 and 1760 to apparently wipe out party ideology. The Namierite explanation is that the end of the Stuart dynasty on the death of Queen..........”
Keywords: ideology, dynasty
Keyword Location: para B, line 7
Explanation: Namier believed that there was a significant change in the political climate between the accession of George I in 1714 and the mid-18th century.

George 1 was not liked by everyone.

Answer: YES
Supporting statement: “.......The accession of George I to the throne In 1715 was not universally popular. He was German, spoke little English, and was only accepted because he promised to maintain the Anglican religion. ..........”
Keywords: accepted, maintain
Keyword Location: para C, line 1
Explanation: Paragraph C states that George I's accession in 1715 was not universally popular.

The Independent Whigs were all landowners with large estates.

Answer: NOT GIVEN
Explanation: There has not been an instance in the passage that says the Independent whigs were all landowners with large estates.

Neither the Independent Whigs, nor the Tories trusted the mercantile classes.

Answer: YES
Supporting statement: “....... It Is thus Nomier's contention, and that of those who follow his work, that by the 1730s the Tories and the Independent Whigs had fused to form a Country opposition...........”
Keywords: opposition, standard
Keyword Location: para E, line 10
Explanation: Paragraph E mentions that both the Independent Whigs and the Tories shared a reaction against the growing mercantile class

Namier's views are supported by Colley.

Answer: NO
Supporting statement: “........ It must be recognised that this view is not universally espoused. Revisionist historians such as Linda Colley dispute that the Tory party was destroyed during this period, and assert the continuation of the Tories as a discrete and persistent group in opposition.........”
Keywords: espoused, persistent
Keyword Location: para F, line 1
Explanation: Paragraph F suggests that Linda Colley disputes Namier's views and asserts the continuation of the Tories as a separate group in opposition.

IELTS Reading Related Articles