Salutary Neglect In Imperialism

Submitted By ballinitup2nite
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A. The British, French, and Spanish all took control of various parts of North America during the imperialist years. While they each settled in close lands, each nation governed lands with similarities and differences. While France and Spain expressed intentions to Christianize the native peoples, England preferred to simply take their land. Spain’s interest was gold and once North America did not have any gold, Spain took a lesser role in controlling their lands. Although France had a declining number of migrants to New France, it did thrive off fur trades with Native Americans. The English, however, were most unique in that their colonies became thriving societies.

B. Salutary neglect refers to the British Colonial policy that involved relaxation of internal colonial affairs and instead focused on defense and trade. The direct response to this type of British Colonial rule was self-governing colonies that would contribute to an eventual independence. The colonies were unique in that they could hold their own legislative assemblies and partake in civic duty. Because mercantilism was a widely held belief in England, British rule took control over the commerce of the American colonies. Finally, each colony was allowed to set its own religious standards; from Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony to Non-denominational Rhone Island, there was diversity and independence in colonial rule.

C. Despite being under British rule, the colonies were free to handle their own internal affairs. Some of these greatly reflected tensions in colonial society. These rebellions would later influence American policy. Bacon’s Rebellion, led by Nathanial Bacon, was an uprising at first directed to Native Americans and later directed to the corrupt government in Virginia. This demonstrated that the colonial society with few wealthy and many poor could not thrive. Plantation owners sought blacks for labor. This led to the Stono Rebellion, which was an uprising from black slaves in South Carolina. The result of this