■Essential Question: –What was government like in the

British North American colonies?–How did the trans-Atlantic trade

influence the development of the British colonies?

■Warm-Up Questions: –Examine each of the documents

provided and explain how each relates to the British colonies

Political Characteristics of the

British Colonies

Government in the British Colonies

■The British colonies were governed with a policy called Salutary Neglect

–British Parliament & the king controlled the colonies, but did not enforce its policies as long as Britain profited from the colonies

–This loose control allowed the colonists to create their own colonial assemblies in America

“To pay little attention to”

“Beneficial” or “favorable”

In practice, the British

government rarely exercised this control over

the colonies

Technically, the Parliament

& king had absolute

authority over all parts of the British empire

But, governors’ salaries were paid by colonial assemblies so governors rarely

overturned local laws or taxes

Almost all the British colonies had royal

governors who were appointed by the king who oversaw trade, approved laws, & appointed judges

Colonists were elected to the

assembly by other colonists; Typically, the assemblies were

ruled by the elite

Colonial assemblies were

made up of colonists who

made their own laws & taxes

(self-government)

Two Examples of Colonial Gov’t

The Virginia House of Burgesses

Massachusetts Town Meetings

Economic Characteristics of the

British Colonies

Trans-Atlantic Trade■America became an important part

of the trans-Atlantic trade network–The colonies produced profitable

raw materials, such as tobacco, wheat, fish, indigo, & whale oil

–Britain sold manufactured goods back to the colonists, such as clothing, tea, guns, & tableware

–African slaves were brought to America via the Middle Passage

Trans-Atlantic Trade Patterns (Before 1660)

Colonial raw materials helped drive British manufacturing& the colonies presented a

new market for the British to sell their finished goods

What were the top 3 colonial exports?

South

Middle

New England

South

South

New England

Trans-Atlantic Trade Patterns (Before 1660)The increased demand for colonial raw materials, increased

the demand for African slaves

This pattern of trade between Europe, the colonies, and Africa became known as the

Triangular Trade

Trans-Atlantic Trade Patterns (Before 1660)When the British colonies were first founded, there were few restrictions on who the colonists could trade with

Mercantilism ■By the 1650s, the British gov’t

began to embrace the economic policy of mercantilismmercantilism:

–The colonies exist to generate wealth for the mother country

–Promoted a balance of trade (more exports than imports)

–Meant that colonial trade must be regulated & controlled

Mercantilism

The Navigation Acts

■Starting in 1660, the British gov’t imposed a series of Navigation ActsNavigation Acts designed to restrict colonial trade & increase British wealth

Initially, the colonists protested the loss of Dutch, French, & Spanish

trade partners

However, colonists soon realized that these

restrictions gave them a monopoly on British trade

& led to steady profits