Colonists who supported the English government and wished to retain a colonial relationship with the mother country were known as what?

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During the revolutionary era, many colonists faced a choice between loyalty to Britain and independence. Those who supported the English government and wanted to keep the colonial relationship with the mother country were called Loyalists, often referred to as Tories. They believed stability, protection, and economic ties under the imperial system were preferable to rebellion. The Patriots, by contrast, pushed for independence. The term Whigs refers to a British political faction that opposed strong royal authority, not to a group within the colonies that preferred remaining under British rule. So the description fits the Loyalists, commonly known as Tories.