Salutary Neglect: Unintentional Colonial Independence

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Recommended: Mercantilism in 1600

1. The Salutary neglect or sometimes referred to as the “beneficial neglect” was a period of time that England neglected the colonies as a result of their preoccupation with multiple wars with France. During this time England experienced changes in their regime and weren’t consistent in keeping their colonial affairs in order. The reason this is referred to as the “salutary” neglect is because it benefited the colonies in many ways but most importantly by forcing them to practice governing themselves. This is a policy that England definitely didn’t want but unintentionally had to do with the distance and resources being used in war. The series of wars ranged from approximately 1689 to 1763 and ended with the Treaty of Paris which took away the majority of French land in the Americas. This muted the threat of France and allowed England to refocus its efforts on its colonies. The failure of mercantilism paired with the cost of war would lead to strong opposition between the British …show more content…

Relations grew worse whenever the king gave land west of the appalachian mountains to the French for settlement. The americans felt betrayed and it added to existing tensions between redcoats and colonists in competition for jobs and women. Their resentments seemed to cancel out their appreciations in regards to the redcoats defending them against the French and Indians. Although, from the british perspective the Americans were just being completely unpractical and attempting to take advantage of the situation. The Salutary neglect is to blame for such hostility because it is the reason colonists came to practice the freedoms they were now so reluctant to give up. It’s like the old saying says” when the cat's away the mice play.” This is exactly what the Americans did whenever England turned it’s back and went to

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