Mercantilism and Salutary Neglect

Rosie Jayde Uyola
Sep 12, 2025
3 min read

Essential Question: How did the British policies of mercantilism and salutary neglect shape the early American colonies?

Key Vocabulary:

Mercantilism: An economic system where a mother country controls its colonies' trade to get rich. The colonies exist to benefit the mother country.
Salutary Neglect: A time when Great Britain relaxed its control over the American colonies. "Salutary" means beneficial, and "neglect" means not paying attention.
Imports: Goods brought into a country or colony.
Exports: Goods sent out of a country or colony.
Balance of Trade: The difference in value between what a country imports and what it exports. The goal of mercantilism is to have more exports than imports.
Navigation Acts: A series of laws passed by the British Parliament to control colonial trade.

Part 1: Do Now - Analyzing a Political Cartoon (5 minutes)

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Part 2: Mercantilism and the Navigation Acts (20 minutes)

What is Mercantilism?

Mercantilism was a powerful idea in Europe. The main goal was to make the mother country as rich and powerful as possible. Colonies were a key part of this plan. They would provide raw materials (like tobacco and cotton) and then buy finished products from the mother country.

Reading: Excerpts from the Navigation Acts (1660)

The Navigation Acts were a series of laws that made mercantilism the official policy of the British Empire. These laws were designed to keep money and power within England.

Excerpts from the Navigation Acts (1660)

Purpose: The main goal of these laws was "for the increase of shipping and encouragement of the navigation of this Nation, wherein, under the good providence and protection of God, the wealth, safety, and strength of this kingdom is so much concerned."

Key Rules:

Shipping Rule: No goods from the colonies could be imported into or exported out of Asia, Africa, or America unless they were on ships that belonged to people in England, Ireland, or Wales. The master and at least three-fourths of the sailors on these ships had to be English.
Product Rule: Certain valuable products from the English colonies, such as sugar, tobacco, cotton-wool, indigo, and ginger, could only be shipped to England or another English colony.
Foreign Goods Rule: All goods from Europe that were to be shipped to the colonies had to be loaded in England first. This gave England control over all colonial trade and added extra costs to foreign goods.

What was Salutary Neglect?

For a long time, Great Britain did not strictly enforce the Navigation Acts. This period of relaxed control is called salutary neglect. It was "salutary" (beneficial) for Britain because it helped the colonies become more self-sufficient and kept them loyal. It also allowed the colonies to develop their own economies and governments.

How did the policies affect the colonies?

Mercantilism: This policy limited the colonies' ability to trade with other countries, which could hurt their profits. It also made them more dependent on Britain for finished goods.
Salutary Neglect: This lack of enforcement allowed the colonies to trade with other countries more freely and develop their own industries. It helped the colonies grow and prosper, but it also taught them to manage their own affairs, which would become a problem for Britain later on.

Instructions:

Use the information above and your class discussion to fill out the table below.

	Mercantilism	Salutary Neglect
How it worked
Impact on the Colonies

Part 3: Exit Ticket - 3-2-1 Summary (5 minutes)

Instructions: Complete the following statements based on what you learned in today's lesson.

Three facts I learned about mercantilism:

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Two ways salutary neglect benefited the colonies:

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One question I still have:

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