Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Introduction
- Part I Foundation: Contractual Imperialism
- Part II Pivot: Regulatory Imperialism
- 5 The Rise and Fall of Autocratic Imperialism
- 6 Economic Regulation: Imperial Administration in the Colonies
- 7 Political Regulation: Legislative Review and Colonial Autonomy
- 8 Colonial Assembly Power under Regulatory Imperialism
- 9 The Institutional Bequests of Empire
- References
- Index
- Political Economy of Institutions and Decisions
5 - The Rise and Fall of Autocratic Imperialism
from Part II - Pivot: Regulatory Imperialism
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 April 2024
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Introduction
- Part I Foundation: Contractual Imperialism
- Part II Pivot: Regulatory Imperialism
- 5 The Rise and Fall of Autocratic Imperialism
- 6 Economic Regulation: Imperial Administration in the Colonies
- 7 Political Regulation: Legislative Review and Colonial Autonomy
- 8 Colonial Assembly Power under Regulatory Imperialism
- 9 The Institutional Bequests of Empire
- References
- Index
- Political Economy of Institutions and Decisions
Summary
As English state capacity grew and the crown faced growing financial constraints at home, colonies became tempting targets. This chapter explores the crown’s attempts to unwind the institutions of contractual imperialism and assert unilateral, direct control over colonies. However, when the crown made these attempts, colonial institutions had taken deep root over decades. The chapter explains why the crown was unable to force its vision of government on the colonies autocratically, and instead pivoted to a negotiated model of governance: Regulatory imperialism.
Keywords
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- Chapter
- Information
- Agents of EmpireEnglish Imperial Governance and the Making of American Political Institutions, pp. 167 - 192Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2024