Moderation and Memory: Rapin de Thoyras and the Making of English Party

13 APRIL 2026 · 13 MINUTES · INTELLECTUAL HISTORY

Samuel Woodall presents his doctoral research on Rapin de Thoyras, the mixed constitution, moderation, and the emergence of political party as a necessary expression of post-Revolution English government.

Episode guide

• Why Rapin described England as neither a pure monarchy, aristocracy nor democracy
• How constitutional mixture created persistent political disagreement
• Why party could be understood as an expression of the constitution rather than simply its failure
• The movement from private research to public historical argument

Sources and further reading

• Paul de Rapin de Thoyras, A Dissertation on the Rise, Progress, Views, Strength, Interests, and Characters of the Two Parties of the Whigs and Tories (1717).
• Miriam Franchina, Paul Rapin Thoyras and the Art of Eighteenth-Century Historiography (2021).
• Max Skjönsberg, The Persistence of Party (2021).

Transcript

A full transcript is in preparation. This page provides an accessible summary and episode guide in the meantime.

Continue the conversation

• Read: Rapin—The Forgotten Historian of Party
• Discuss: When Does Opposition Become Loyal?
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