Ever since the first colonials were in America, there was a separation between Britain and her colonies. Britain used these colonies to produce new markets (mercantilism) and as a source of raw materials. From the sixteen hundreds up until the mid-seventeen hundreds, Europeans were constantly involved with expensive wars which were enormous distractions. The colonies forced to practically rule themselves throughout this time of neglect. This British policy of salutary neglect had profound impacts on American society. It resulted in many various religions, unique legislative assemblies, and the formation of a very diverse commerce.Through legislative assemblies, the colonies w ...view middle of the document...
These accomplishments showed that colonials were becoming more and more independent. England was rarely involved with decisions made by these colonial legislative assemblies. Soon, the assemblies overcame the English authorities in the colonies. The body began to make laws that disagreed with the English laws. When Boston became self-ruled, they passed laws repressing the rights of Anglicans, which just happened to be the religion of England. Before long, assemblies were able to bring together fighting, and therefore threatening, armies. Britains neglect led the colonials to create legislative assemblies that began to self-rule while Britain was preoccupied in multiple struggles and skirmishes.Another flourishing part of colonial economics was the commerce, which found its way around the strict English laws in America. The British attempted to enforce the system of Mercantilism upon the colonists; however, the neglect of the colonies made regulations such as the Navigation Acts and Staple unsuccessful, giving colonial American a great advantage in the section of trade and industry. Another major part of commerce was the triangular trade route, which made the right commodities available so they could improve the lives of their people, reduce the rate of inflation, and elevate the standard of living. If the English hadnt been so neglectful, the colonials never would have gotten away with it. Colonial sailors also started the smuggling system during this time, accomplishing this by making prohibited deliveries to harbors in the Caribbean and in Europe. Smuggling was resorted to because the English markets couldnt sustain all of the colonial merchandise, and because the enormous taxes enforced by English merchants resulted in the loss of most of their revenue. An additional result caused by the British authority not sufficiently helping the colonists was the development of major fur trading. In New York, colonists learned capitalism from the Dutch, creating markets in Amsterdam to sell exports such as timber and tar to build boats. This allowed the colonists to finally be able to change taxes based on their individual financial income. Throughout this time, particularly in the 1600s with the Glorious Revolution, times were economically tough for England. It was, however, quite the opposite in colonial America, where tobacco, cotton, and manufacturing became more widespread than ever before. John Rolfe helped tobacco spread throughout Virginia, cotton prospered in the south, and manufacturing flourished in New England. Each of these gave colonial America a strong economy that wouldnt have existed without salutary neglect.Although the Anglican Church was the official religion of England, it was not the basis of religion in the colonies. Colonials began to dislike anything relating to Britain, due in whole to the salutary neglect....
