British Government's Salutary Neglect Policy In The 17th-18th Century

The British government had a great strength and say over what occurred in the New World colonies, and the English colonists that were inhabiting the land followed the king’s orders. However, the British salutary neglect policy provided the people with more freedom to create leaderships and laws within their colonies and allowed them to follow their beliefs as they pleased, without the fear of persecution. Therefore, with the British government loosely ruling the New World, the colonies began to assemble their own governments and creating and following their own forms of religion, while still maintaining under the rule of the British monarchy and Parliament. Throughout the late 17th and early 18th centuries, the British government established a salutary neglect policy, which meant that the colonies in the New World had to be obedient and loyal to England, without the need of the …show more content…
This movement began in the late 17th to early 18th century, and mainly dealt with scientific and intellectual reason. As this was barely being discovered, scientists and other intellectuals believed that “reason, not just faith, could create progress and advance knowledge,” and that “humans had a moral sense on which they could rely to tell the difference between right and wrong- that they did not always need to turn to God for guidance in making decisions.” This movement is an example of the freedom of religion granted by salutary neglect in the colonies because these types of beliefs would most likely not have been tolerated in England because they state that the people should not rely on God for everything, which counteracts with the beliefs of the Church, and that could have resulted in the people who participated in the Enlightenment being persecuted. However, since it occurred in the colonies, where they had the freedom to question religions and speak up about them, the movement was completely