Salutary neglect

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Salutary neglect is an undocumented, though longstanding, British policy of avoiding strict enforcement of parliamentary laws meant to keep the American colonies subservient to England. Prime Minister Robert Walpole stated that if no restrictions were on the colonies, they would flourish. This policy, which spanned from about 1690 to 1750, allowed the actual enforcement of trade relations laws to be lenient. King George III ended this policy through acts such as the Stamp Act and Sugar Act, causing dissentions among the colonists.

It is believed that salutary neglect is a large contributing factor that led to the American Revolutionary War. Since the imperial authority didn't assert the power that it had, the colonists were left to govern themselves. These essentially sovereign colonies soon became accustomed to the idea of self-control. The effects of such prolonged isolation eventually resulted in the emergence of a collective identity that considered itself separate from England.

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