UNIT 2 Salutary Neglect and Colonial America

Introduction

  • Holly Brewer teaches early American history at the University of Maryland.
  • Lecture focuses on the colonial period, specifically "salutary neglect."
  • Key question: What were America, its governance, and society like before 1763?
  • Exploration of the British Empire's power before the American Revolution.
  • Time frame: Primarily 1707-1753, ending around 1763.
  • Inquiry into the origins of American democracy and slavery and their potential connection.
  • Examination of the empire's role in both democracy and slavery.
  • Addressing the debate on whether "salutary neglect" accurately describes the colonial period.
  • Consideration of whether the British Empire heavily directed the colonies' political and economic development or not.
  • Exploration of fundamental questions relevant to modern America.

Salutary Neglect

  • Definition: A period where the British Empire purportedly paid little attention to the American colonies, allowing them to develop democratic systems organically.
  • Origin of the Term
    • Coined by Edmund Burke, an agent for the colony of New York in Parliament in 1775.
    • Burke represented the colony's interests and later became a political theorist.
    • Authored "Reflections on the Revolution in France" (1791), considered a foundation of modern conservatism.
    • Burke's Argument in Parliament (1775)
      • Colonies developed independently.
      • Problems arose from British interference.
      • Colonies would thrive if left alone.
  • Key Questions
    • Did Britain neglect its American colonies?
    • How was the empire involved in the colonies?
    • What was the British Empire's role in the origins of slavery in British North America?
    • Who held power within the empire?
    • How involved were the monarchy and appointed officials versus Parliament in colonial regulation?
    • What policies did the empire promote, and how did they impact colonial development?
    • To what extent did imperial involvement vary among colonies and change over time?
  • The lecture aims to provide insights into these questions and the impact of imperial power and politics on colonial development, social structures, land ownership, and slavery.

Early Colonial Landscape

  • Map from 1680 shows Dutch presence in the mid-17th century.
  • The Dutch controlled much of the area that would become the central colonies, with their capital in New York (New Amsterdam).
  • Presence of Dutch windmills, houses, and names on the map.
  • English presence is noted in Virginia and New England.
  • Various Native American tribes are listed.
  • The map illustrates that the British did not initially control all of this area; control was shared with Native Americans and the Dutch.
  • England's acquisition of sovereignty involved extensive wars with the Dutch.
  • The Dutch claimed the territory even after losing wars in 1664-1667 and 1672-1674.
  • The presence of "New York" on the map indicates acknowledgment of British control, but the Dutch may have hoped to reclaim the territory.
  • Wars between the English and Dutch demonstrate imperial involvement in the colonies.

Colonial Protection and Interconnection

  • Colonies required protection and supplies.
  • Colonies generated income for the empires.
  • Constant interconnections between the colonies and Europe.
  • Colonies frequently involved in imperial European wars, often with Native American tribes as allies.
  • England's interest in the colonies stemmed from their association with wealth for merchants and the crown.

Economic Value of Colonies

  • Spanish Empire's Wealth
    • Spain became wealthy from New World gold and silver in the 16th century.
    • Treasure fleets transported vast quantities of gold and silver to Spain.
    • Other European countries, including England, sought to capture this wealth.
    • England aimed to capture Spanish colonies rich in gold and silver.
  • Early English Efforts
    • Early Jamestown settlers searched for gold and silver.
    • Archaeological evidence shows crucibles for refining metal at Jamestown.
    • The king initially demanded 20% of all gold and silver found.
    • Early English efforts focused on raiding Spanish settlements.
  • Shifting Focus on Goods
    • England's economic model shifted to colonists sending goods back to England, including fish, beaver pelts, tobacco, sugar, and indigo.
    • Fish: Abundant fisheries off Newfoundland were exploited by English fishermen.
    • Beaver Pelts: Highly valued for warmth, used in products like top hats.
    • Tobacco: Grown in Virginia and Maryland, becoming a main export.
    • Sugar: Primarily grown in the Caribbean colonies.
    • Indigo: Used as a dye.
    • Cotton: Woven with wool into cloth in England.
    • Wood Products and Rice: Important resources.

Mercantilism

  • Mercantilism: Colonies produced unprocessed goods, which were then processed in England.
  • Examples
    • Tobacco processed into snuff and pipe weed.
    • Wood products turned into ships and furniture.
    • Cotton processed into cloth.
    • Indigo used for cloth dye.
    • Unrefined sugar from the Caribbean refined in England.
    • Rice provided essential food supplies.
  • Benefits to England
    • Products generated taxes.
    • Import and export taxes (customs and excise taxes) comprised 60-80% of crown revenue during the colonial period.
  • Navigation Acts
    • Goods produced in the colonies had to be shipped back to England in English ships.
    • This was written into the original charters for the colonies.
    • Revenue from tobacco was substantial, reaching over 30,000 pounds a year by the 1630s.

Parliamentary Interventions

  • Parliament's role in controlling the colonies.
  • Plantation Acts (1663): Taxes on goods moving between colonies, enforced by naval convoys and officials.
  • Woolen Act (1699): Prevented colonists from making cloth except for home consumption.
  • Restrictions on colonial mints and coining money in the late 17th century.
  • Hat Act (1732): Colonists couldn't make beaver hats; beaver furs had to be sent to Britain.
  • Molasses Act: Extra fees on sugar from non-English colonies.
  • Sugar Act of 1764: Built on previous acts (mentioned for later context).
  • Iron Act of 1750: Prevented colonists from making iron.
  • Debt Recovery Act: Land and personal property (including enslaved people) in the colonies were eligible for debt recovery in England.
  • The British Parliament actively intervened to shape the economies of the colonies.

Crown Authority and Colonial Governance

  • Larger System of Authority
    • Colonies belonged to the crown.
    • Kings, especially Charles I, granted large territories to proprietors.
    • The king was the final lord and exercised dominion through land ownership.
  • Layers of Power
    • The proprietor (e.g., in Maryland) was the next level down from the king.
    • Charters gave proprietors the ability to govern those who lived on the land.
  • Assemblies
    • Original charters allowed for elected assemblies to be called, especially for raising taxes.
    • Proprietors could make laws through governors and councils.
    • Assemblies became more pervasive in the 18th century.
  • Oversight Bodies
    • All colonies reported to oversight bodies in England, such as the Council on Foreign Plantations and the Board of Trade (after 1695).
    • Secretaries of state monitored the colonies and were members of the king's privy council.
    • These bodies reported to the king's privy council.
  • Approval of Laws and Decisions
    • Colonial laws passed through the assembly, council, governor, and British officials.
    • Colonial court decisions could be appealed up the same route.
  • Appointment of Officials
    • The king and his officials appointed all colonial officials in most colonies, from judges to governors.
    • Example: In Massachusetts in 1770, there were over 750 crown officials.
    • Officials were dependent on the crown and could be dismissed at will.

English Revolutions

  • Two Revolutions in England
    • English Civil War and interregnum (1641-1660).
      • Charles I was tried for treason and executed in 1649 due to conflict between Parliament and the king.
    • Restoration in 1660: Charles II restored to the throne.
    • The Glorious Revolution (1688) against James II.
      • Similar issues of representative government and the king's authority.
  • Impact on the Colonies
    • Puritans in Massachusetts had more representative government initially due to their charter and religious beliefs.
    • Local town meetings and an annually elected legislature and governor.
    • Charles II revoked this in 1684, turning the northern colonies into the Dominion of New England (1686-1689).
    • Governed without representative bodies under Governor Andros.
    • Rebellions in the colonies mirrored those in England.
    • Bacon's Rebellion in Virginia (1676) led to troops being sent to repress it.

Royal Governors' Instructions

  • Governors received extensive instructions on colonial laws to veto.
  • Assemblies, which approved new taxes, could be called and dismissed at the governor's pleasure.
  • Governors and appointed officials held significant power.

Slavery and Imperial Policy

  • Royal instructions to governors, such as in North Carolina (1754), prohibited taxing the slave trade.
  • Slavery and monarchy were ideologically linked.
    • Slavery was often justified as a natural hierarchy.
    • Contrasted with the idea of equality.
  • Royal policies promoted inequality.
    • Land grants were given to masters for buying indentured servants or slaves.
    • Slavery was immensely profitable to the crown through taxes on goods produced by enslaved laborers.
    • Taxes on sugar and tobacco contributed about 25% of crown revenue by 1750.
  • Royal African Company
    • Founded by Charles II in 1660 after the Restoration to facilitate the slave trade.
    • Modeled after Spanish and Portuguese practices.
    • Initially a government-backed monopoly, later integrated into the government.
    • Actively defended and facilitated the slave trade until 1807.
    • By 1750, Britain was the largest transporter of enslaved people from Africa.

Royal African Company Details

  • Slogan: "By royal patronage, trade flourishes; by trade, the realm."
  • Illustrations of forts in Africa that facilitated the slave trade in the company's map collection (1682).
  • Elephant and castle were the seal of the Royal African Company.
  • Government Enterprise
    • Cape Coast Castle in Guinea was a headquarters with royal soldiers, indicating government involvement.
    • Cooperated with local kingdoms to obtain slaves, often through war.
    • The slave trade was enforced by empires, navies, and armies.
  • Leadership
    • James, Duke of York (later James II), was the head of the company.
    • Between 1685 and 1689, James II was both King of England and governor of the Royal African Company.
    • The King of England was directly involved in England's slave trade.

Colonial Demographics and Policies

  • In 1763, Britain had 40 colonies in the Americas.
  • Only 13 of these colonies rebelled in 1776.
  • Slavery was legal in every colony under British common law.
  • The percentage of the population enslaved varied by region due to local policies.
    • Massachusetts and Pennsylvania: 2% enslaved due to policies discouraging slavery.
    • New York: 14% enslaved due to encouragement of slavery.
    • Delaware: 5% enslaved.
    • Maryland: 31% enslaved.
    • Virginia: 45% enslaved.
    • South Carolina: 61% enslaved.
    • Caribbean colonies: Usually more than 80% enslaved.
  • Environmental Similarity, Policy Difference
    • Delaware and Maryland shared a peninsula with similar environments.
    • Policy differences accounted for the different levels of slavery.

Conclusion

  • Salutary Neglect: No
    • There was always a great deal of political and economic regulation of the colonies.
    • Mercantilism and political directives mattered.
  • Slavery
    • Slavery developed within an empire with laws, courts, and institutions that protected it.
    • The slave trade was never free trade.
  • Pirate Trials
    • Britain's largest trials of pirates were off the coast of Africa at the headquarters of the Royal African Company.
    • Illustration of the forts off the African coast that were protecting the slave trade.
  • Overall Assessment
    • Slavery developed within a monarchical empire characterized by hereditary inequality.
    • Limited representative government existed in the colonies before the American Revolution.
    • Opportunity and representative government were fragile and hard-won, particularly in colonies like Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.
  • Further Reading
    • Holly Brewer's "Slavery, Sovereignty, and Inheritable Blood: Rethinking John Locke and the Origins of American Slavery."
    • Encouragement to ask questions and explore further answers.