Mercan'lism -­‐a  country’s  ul7mate  goal  is  self-­‐sufficiency,  &  all   countries  were  compe7ng  to  acquire  the  most  gold  &  silver
The  real  purpose  of  Britain’s  colonial  system,  then,  was  to  enrich   the  mother  country
If  a  country  could  swing  the  balance  of  trade  so  that  more  gold  came   in  than  went  out,  that  was  good

1650-­‐The  American  colonies   were  par7ally  fulfilling  their   role  in  making  Britain  rich
Colonists  exported  lumber,  furs,   fish,  &  tobacco  to  England,  &   bought  furniture,  utensils,   books,  &  china  from  them
Some  of  the  lumber  &  tobacco   made  its  way  to  France,
Spain,  or  Holland-­‐not  to
England
Thus  some  colonists  were   increasing  their  wealth—with   money  that  should  have   gone  to  England

The  money  ending  up  in
American  pockets  was   viewed  as  an  economic   threat  to  England
Mercan7lism  says  any  wealth   flowing  from  the  colonies   to  another  na7on  was  bad   for  England’s  balance  of   trade
1651-­‐Parliament  passed  the
Naviga7on  Acts,  which   restricted  colonial  trade
Now  all  goods  had  to  pass   thru  England  to  be  taxed,  &   had  to  be  carried  on
English  ships

Even  though  the  colonists   profited  by  building  English   ships,  some  colonial   merchants  resented  the   restric7ons
They  con7nued  to  trade   illegally  with  other  countries
—we  call  it  smuggling
For  a  while,  England  allowed   the  colonists  to  smuggle   without  stopping  them
King  Charles  II  decided  to  act  by   punishing  the  leaders  &   merchants  of  MassachuseTs

English  Puritans  had  beheaded   the  king’s  father,  Charles  I,   in  1649
Now  that  Charles  II  was  in   charge,  the  American
Puritans  were  hos7le  to  the   king’s  authority
1684-­‐AXer  failing  to  persuade
MassachuseTs  to  obey  the   law  &  stop  smuggling,
England  revoked  the   colony’s  corporate  charter
Now  MassachuseTs  became  a   royal  colony,  under  strict   control  of  the  crown

Charles  II  died  in  1685,  &  was   succeeded  by  his  brother
James  II-­‐a  devout  Roman
Catholic
James  aggravated  the  situa7on  by   placing  MassachuseTs,
Connec7cut,  Rhode  Island,  &
New  Hampshire  under  one   ruler  in  Boston
For  3  years,  the  land  from  Maine   to  New  Jersey  was  united  into
1  vast  colony-­‐the  Dominion  of
New  England

James  picked  hardliner  Sir
Edmund  Andros  to  govern  the   new  colony
Within  3  weeks  of  arriving  in
Boston,  Andros  made   thousands  of  enemies  by  taking   the  colonists’  privileges  away
He  angered  the  Puritans  by   ques7oning  the  legality  of  their   religion
Andros  made  it  clear  the
Naviga7on  Acts  would  be   enforced  &  all  taxes  due  would   be  paid

Andros  acted  without  any   input  from  local  leaders,   which  infuriated  a  people   which  had  been  used  to   governing  themselves
1688-­‐The  Puritans  sent  their   most  prominent  minister,
Increase  Mather,  to
London  to  try  to  get  their   old  charter  restored
Meanwhile,  King  James  II   seemed  to  be  making   enemies  of  everyone

James  was  especially  suspect   as  an  openly  Catholic  king   in  a  determined  Protestant   country
He  seemed  to  have  no  respect   for  Parliament-­‐many   thought  he  was  plo`ng  to   make  Roman  Catholicism   the  official  religion  again
When  he  fathered  a  son  in
1688,  it  appeared  there   would  be  a  Catholic   dynasty  again  in  England

James  had  a  Protestant   daughter,  Mary,  who  was   married  to  William,  a  Dutch   prince
1689-­‐To  replace  James,
Parliament  invited  Mary  &
William  to  invade  England
&  take  the  throne
William  sailed  from  Holland   with  a  small  army,  &  a   friendless  James  II  fled  the   country
In  the  wake  of  the  Glorious
Revolu7on,  Parliament   passed  laws  establishing  its   power  as  being  above  the   king

When  the  MassachuseTs   colonists  learned  that
James  had  been   overthrown,  they  staged   a  bloodless  revolu7on  of   their  own
They  arrested  Andros  &  his   councilors
Parliament  quickly  restored   their  colonial  charters,   with  a  few  changes
The  Dominion  of  New
England  was  dissolved

MassachuseTs’  new  charter   said  that  the  king  would   appoint  the  colonial   governor
The  Puritan  colony  would  have   to  grant  more  religious   tolera7on  &  give  non-­‐
Puritans  a  voice  in  the
MassachuseTs  Assembly
Puritans  could  no  longer   persecute  such  groups  as
Anglicans-­‐(members  of  the
Church  of  England)  or
Quakers

AXer  1688,  England  turned  its   aTen7on  away  from  the   colonies  again
Instead,  they  were  more   concerned  about  the  growing   power  of  France
The  home  country  s7ll  expected   the  colonies  to  do  their   mercan7list  duty-­‐export  raw   materials  to  England,  &   import  finished  goods
As  long  as  they  did  this,  England   would  not  interfere  with
America-­‐a  least  not  much

England  did  try  a  couple  of   ways  to  7ghten  their   control-­‐they  updated   the  Naviga7on  Acts
First,  they  moved   smuggling  trials  from   colonial  courts-­‐where   colonists  made  up  the
juries
Instead,  smugglers  would   be  tried  by  Admiralty
Courts  presided  over  by
English  judges
They  also  created  the
Board  of  Trade,  which   had  broad  powers  to   monitor  colonial  trade

While  England  7ghtened  control  a   liTle  bit  in  one  area,  overall  they   loosened  their  grip
English  officials  only  lightly   enforced  the  new  measures-­‐a   policy  called  Salutary  Neglect
In  return  for  relaxing  most  of  its   regula7ons,  Parliament  asked   for  the  con7nued  economic   loyalty  of  its  colonies
As  long  as  the  balance  of  trade   flowed  England’s  way,
Parliament  did  not  bother  the   colonies

Salutary  neglect  had  a  profound   effect  on  colonial  poli7cs  as  well   as  economics
In  nearly  all  colonies,  the  king   appointed  the  governor,  who   presided  over  a  council  of   advisors,  also  appointed  by  the   king
All  colonies  had  a  local  assembly   made  up  of  land-­‐owning  white   males  who  advised  the  governor
The  governor  could  call  &  disband   the  mili7a,  appoint  &  dismiss   judges,  &  oversee  all  aspects  of   colonial  trade

Just  as  England  backed  off   strict  enforcement  of  its   economic  policies,   colonial  governors   weren’t  as  powerful  as   they  might  seem
The  colonial  assembly,  not   the  king,  paid  the   governor’s  salary
This  “power  of  the  purse”   gave  the  ordinary   colonist  influence  over   the  governor
Thus  the  assemblymen  had   some  approval  over   laws,  taxes,  &  the   appointment  of  judges

Under  England’s  less-­‐than-­‐ watchful  eye,  the   colonies  were  developing   a  taste  for  self-­‐ government
Salutary  neglect  worked  in   the  early  1700s  while  the   colonies  remained  loyal   to  England
The  colonies  s7ll  considered   themselves  part  of
England-­‐but  had  liTle  in   common  with  each  other
Eventually  their  desire  for   self-­‐government  would   create  the  condi7ons  for   unity  &  rebellion

Keeping  the  colonies   under  economic  &   poli'cal  control
1651-­‐The  Naviga'on
Acts
1686-­‐Northern   colonies  consolidated   into  the  Dominion  of
New  England
1688-­‐Salutary  neglect