Revolutionary War Causes & Salutary Neglect
Internal English Turmoil Allowed the Colonies to Develop Autonomy
English non-interference with certain colonial matters has come to be known as “salutary neglect” and is best embodied in Robert Walpole’s dictum regarding North Americans: “Let sleeping dogs lie.” This policy allowed local colonial assemblies to assume greater autonomy politically over indigenous affairs and may help to explain why, under King George III and the post-Seven Years’ War Parliament, parliamentary measures became viewed as acts of oppression. Additionally, 17th century internal turmoil in England had allowed the colonies to establish trade relationships with non-English competitors, notably the Dutch.
17th Century Internal Turmoil Fostered Colonial Autonomy
Thirty-five years after the founding of the first permanent English colony in Virginia, a civil war broke out in England, pitting King Charles I against Parliament, dominated by Puritans. It was an inevitable answer to Charles’ notions of divine right rule and his refusal to grant basic rights of due process. Defeated at Naseby in 1645, Charles I was executed in 1649 and for the next ten years England would be led by Oliver Cromwell during the Commonwealth Period.
1660 was the year of the Restoration, bringing Charles II to the throne. During his reign, England fought a series of naval wars against the Dutch in order to curb the Netherlands’ maritime commercial empire. It was also the period in which the Navigation Acts were issued, an attempt to promote mercantile goals that sought to end illegal trade with competing nations. Further, England sought to tighten control of its Caribbean possessions where English Separatists were become increasingly independent of home rule.
Charles II’s brother, James II, threatened the peace of the kingdom by actively embracing Catholicism. In 1688, England erupted in the bloodless Glorious Revolution and in the following year William and Mary became the new monarchs, signing off on the English Bill of Rights and inaugurating the first phases of a constitutional monarchy. King William, however, brought with him an animosity toward France.
William III, as the prior stadthalter of the Netherlands, had been fighting Louis XIV of France for several years. Now, as the new English king, he embroiled England in what would become a series of wars with the French. In America, they would be known as King William’s War, Queen Anne’s War, King George’s War, and the French and Indian War.
Salutary Neglect and the Colonies
English non-interference with the colonies, whether direct or indirect during the 17th century, became a policy of Sir Robert Walpole in the early 18th century. During these years, the colonial population grew and the colonies became prosperous. Americans developed their own indigenous aristocracy, notably among Southern planters and wealthy urban merchants. Further, colonists were slowly developing a self-identity as Americans, fiercely defensive of their freedoms.
Although England had policies in effect designed to interdict illegal foreign trade as per the Navigation Acts, these were not enforced until the end of the Seven Years’ War (French and Indian War). According to Howard Zinn of Columbia University, some Patriot leaders of the impending Revolution, like John Hancock, had made fortunes in smuggling illegal goods in violation of English policies and the mercantile system. [1]
Salutary neglect was certainly a reason for the protestations against English attempts to develop a policy of enforcement. Additionally, salutary neglect had permitted colonial assemblies and local governments the ability to function independently of Parliament for decades. The sleeping dogs of Robert Walpole were slowly awakening. It was a cause of the coming Revolution.
Sources:
Oliver M. Dickerson, The Navigation Acts and the American Revolution (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylviania Press, 1951)
[1] Howard Zinn, A People’s History of the United States – see on-line.
Robert Walpole
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