salutary neglect

Even as their first colonies were developing, Britain did not exercise as much control over them, as other nations had in their colonies. This occurred even more so as the colonies continued to develop. During this time Britain chose to pursue political and military undertaking away from the colonies, taking their attention off of the settlers in the Americas. This policy, later named salutary neglect by Edmund Burke, allowed the colonies to experience freedom from the control of England, leading them to develop the beginnings of their own representative assemblies, trade free of restraint from the mother country, and religious tolerance. Before England had established any colonies in the Americas, Spain and Portugal had done so. Spain and Portugal ruled their colonies in an authoritarian fashion, leaving no room for the settlers to have any control over themselves. The settlers had little to no representation in government and no say in public policy. This is what caused England's colonies to differ from the others. The settlers in England's colonies were partially self-governed, and had many freedoms that other settlers did not. One reason for this was that many of the English colonies began as private corporate enter