Salutary Neglect: Colonial Administration Under the Duke of Newcastle

During the remarkably long period (1724-1754) that Thomas Pelham-Holles, Duke of Newcastle, served as England's secretary of state, private interests and the exigencies of domestic politics rather than a rational assessment of England's stake in America determined colonial policy. As no purposeful effort was made to administer the colonies" political life, they enjoyed in effect relatively little interference in their internal affairs. The reasons for this "salutary neglect" and the lack of...