salutary neglect and mercantilism - rigganclass · what is mercantilism? •mercantilism- a system...
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Salutary Neglect and Mercantilism
Key Concept 2.2.I C&D
Key Concept Thesis 2.2.I.C
• The British government increasingly attempted to incorporate its North American colonies into a coherent, hierarchical, and imperial structure in order to pursue mercantilist economic aims, but conflicts with colonists and American Indians led to erratic enforcement of imperial policies.
Key Concept Thesis 2.2.I.D
• Colonists’ resistance to imperial control drew on local experiences of self-government, evolving ideas of liberty, the political thought of the enlightenment, greater religious independence and diversity, and an ideology critical of perceived corruption in the imperial system.
What is Mercantilism?
• Mercantilism- A system of political economy based on government regulation. Beginning in 1650, Britain enacted Navigation Acts that controlled colonial commerce and manufacturing for the enrichment of Britain.
What is Salutary Neglect?
• Established by Sir Robert Walpole
• British colonial policy of both George I and George II
• American self-government was allowed to flourish with relaxation of British policy enforcement due to the growth of trade and import duties.
British Mercantile System
• Because of the European rivalries that carried over to the New World, England constantly acted in its own interest and not the interest of the colonists themselves.
• Example: – Establishment of Georgia:
To protect South Carolina’s rice trade
British (cont.)
• Treaties were also important because often Britain would make treaties with European rivals without concern for the safety and well being of the American colonist
• Example: Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle
Mercantilism and the Colonies • America took advantage of Salutary Neglect.
• Not only were they selling goods to the British West Indies, but also the French colonies as well.
• This led the British Parliament to pass the Navigation Acts on goods like sugar and molasses and the Currency Act to stop the establishment of land banks.
• Land Banks- An institution that printed paper money and lent it to farmers, taking a lien on their land to ensure repayment
British Mercantilist Laws
• Navigation Acts
• Sugar Act
• Quartering Act
• Stamp Act
• Townshend Acts
• Tea Act
• Intolerable Acts
• Quebec Act
Navigation Acts (1650-1763)
• Put in place by England, the Navigation Acts required that goods be carried on ships owned by the English or colonial merchants.
• It also put restrictions on foreign traders, making the colonists export sugar and tobacco only to England.
• This was backed by strict military force.
Navigation Acts (cont.)
• The Navigation Acts led many colonists to complain about and ignore the laws by smuggling products from foreign markets.
Sugar Act (1764)
• Tax placed on sugar and molasses because colonists were British subjects
• Colonists protested and smuggled sugar and molasses
Quartering Act (1765)
• Required colonies to provide British troops with quarters (shelter and food) and supplies
• Colonial assemblies voted to refuse to supply British soldiers
Stamp Act (1765)
• Any item that was made of paper required a stamped tax payment to be made
• Colonists argued “taxation with representation”, Stamp Act is repealed
Townshend Acts (1767)
• Tax on glass, lead, paper, paint and tea
• Colonists smuggled goods, boycotted British goods, and fought with British troops
Tea Act (1773)
• A plan to bail out the East India Tea Company through a tax on tea
• Boston Tea Party and smuggling of tea resulted from this act.
Intolerable Acts (1774)Also called the Coercive Acts
• Boston Port Bill—closed Boston Harbor to shipping
• Massachusetts Government Act—annulled the colony’s charter, prohibited town meetings
• Quartering Act—mandated new barracks for British troops
• Justice Act– allowed transfer of trials for capital crimes out of Massachusetts to other colonies or to Britain
Intolerable Acts (1774)--Response
• Militias form; colonies send representatives to 1st Continental Congress meets and starts colonial boycott
• In response to the Boston Tea Party
Quebec Act (1774)
• Prohibited colonists from moving into Ohio River Valley, Catholic religion in region
• Colonists expected to settle into the region
Questions from the Lecture
• How do you think an ordinary American felt after Salutary Neglect ended in the colonies?
• If you were a colonist during this era, which act would you have viewed as the most crippling to society?
• Although it was against the law, do you feel that the smuggling of venturing colonists, like John Hancock, was justified?