| British North America: Colonial Governments and Imperial Policy (1651-1775) |
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Sections:- British Colonial Trade Regulations, 1651-1766
- The Dominion of New England, 1688
- The Glorious Revolution and English Bill of Rights, 1689
- The Policy of Salutary Neglect
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| Historical Context
The reign of James II, while certainly important within England, also held profound significance within the American colonies. Sweeping economic restrictions were imposed on the colonists by previous monarchs, tightening the crown's control of the colonies by fostering economic dependence, while impeding their ability to make money independently.
Attached Documents
Provided below is a chart depicting the laws imposed on the colonists. All laws made prior to James' reign (1685-1689) were honored in kind by the monarch during his control.
Questions to Consider
1. Summarize the effect of the Navigation Acts.
2. Briefly discuss why these economic restrictions would benefit England. Why would these measures be controversial to the colonists? |
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| Historical Context
By the late seventeenth century, the English colonists exercised a considerable degree of political autonomy. In New England, colonial governments acted as entities independent of the crown, headed by a governor elected by the legislatures or property-holding males. The democratic tradition of the town meeting developed in the region to resolve local matters. Though colonial political structures differed by region, most of them allowed free white men with a minimum amount of property an active voice in local affairs.
In 1685, James II ascended the throne and began to systematically replace the diverse, autonomous colonial governments with royal proprietorships in an effort to assert more control over the increasingly independent assemblies and enforce economic restrictions. The most dramatic reordering occurred in 1686, when the colonial charters of New England, New York, and New Jersey were revoked and the region was politically consolidated as the Dominion of New England. The colonists were deprived of their ability to govern themselves, levy taxes, and control religious expression and were placed under the autocratic rule of Sir Edmund Andros for two years.
Attached Documents
In the Commission of Sir Edmund Andros for the Dominion of New England (1688), the crown outlines the duties and privileges granted to the new royal governor.
Questions to Consider
1. List the powers granted to Andros and the royally appointed council.
2. Which of these powers, taken from the assemblies and invested in the royal governor, do you think were the most controversial? Why? |
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| Historical Context
King James the II sought to restore Catholicism and absolute monarchy in England, as well as exercise more extensive control over the somewhat anarchic collection of colonies in North America. In 1688, leading English politicians who opposed his reign for policies such as imposing taxes without Parliamentary approval, secretly arranged for William of Orange to invade England and restore their liberties. King James fled England, abdicating his throne. This bloodless coup, which transformed England into a constitutional monarchy and reconstituted the supremacy of Protestantism, became known as the Glorious Revolution. William of Orange and his wife, King James's daughter Mary, became joint rulers of England after accepting the English Bill of Rights.
Following the Glorious Revolution, Sir Edmund Andros was deposed as ruler of the Dominion of New England. Massachusetts and Plymouth were combined in 1691 as the Province of Massachusetts Bay. The other New England colonies reverted to their previous forms of government.
Attached Documents
The English Bill of Rights assured the English people of certain basic civil rights and became influential in the American colonies as well. For example, though most of the colonies were now more directly controlled by the crown, the assemblies followed the example of the British Parliament and maintained their right to vote on taxes and initiate legislation. Later, the states and the federal government would eventually adopt their own bills of rights.
Questions to Consider
1. What abuses of monarchical authority was the British Parliament attempting to curtail when it authored the English Bill of Rights?
2. What are some of the rights that were later used in the United States' Bill of Rights? |
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| Historical Context
“Salutary neglect” was the unwritten, unofficial stance of benign neglect by England toward the American colonies. On the whole, the colonists were relatively autonomous and were allowed to govern themselves with minimal royal and parliamentary interference. The colonies, in turn, fulfilled their role in the mercantilist system as the suppliers of raw materials for manufacture in England and as markets for those finished goods. Before the passage of the Navigation Acts, England was limited in its influence over the remote colonies due to its distance and a number of more pressing regional concerns. The Navigation Acts were an attempt to end the period of salutary neglect and create a coherent imperial policy. The Acts were poorly enforced, and the implicit policy of neglect continued until the end of the Seven Years War in 1763. By this time, however, the colonists had developed a tradition of self-government and the attempt by England to tighten the reigns of political control with the imposition of tax and trade regulations added to the tensions spawned by the French and Indian War (the North American theater of the Seven Years War). Some historians argue that the policy of salutary neglect gave the American colonists a degree of independence that led directly to the American Revolution.
Attached Documents
Sir Robert Walpole, who served as England's first Prime Minister from 1721 to 1742, was a staunch mercantilist who made the avoidance of war a top priority during his tenure. Because Walpole believed that political and economic interference with the colonies would alienate them and hurt commerce with England, he laxly enforced trade regulations, including the Navigation Acts. This "hands off" approach continued with subsequent Prime Ministers.
In Edmund Burke's 1775 "Speech on Conciliation with the Colonies," the term "salutary neglect" was first used. In this speech to Parliament, Burke asserts that colonial economic development was self-motivated, making English interference unnecessary and unwise. Burke also attempts to explain the rather contentious relationship between England and her distant colonies.
The image is a portrait of Sir Robert Walpole.
Questions to Consider
1. According to Burke, what political inclinations did the American colonists inherit from their mother country?
2. What reasons does Burke cite for the American disposition toward liberty? How does he account for the colonies' rebelliousness?
3. What does Burke say about the nature of power in a large empire?
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