With what success did Britain seek to govern their America

            "By what means and with what success did Britain seek to govern the American colonies under the early Hanoverians?".
             Fundamentally the success of government depends upon its ability to administer public policy and exercise authority. British government throughout this entire period failed to fulfil this role, in spite of adopting two very contrasting approaches. Primarily, a policy of distinct commercial self-interest between 1714-1740 representative of Walpolian government, through the means of mercantile trade i.e. Molasses Act 1733, heavily neglected political responsibilities. Non-enforcement of trade taxes such as the Navigation Acts, contributed to the rise of the colonial assemblies who in turn built upon their own political rights and ultimately prevented the British government from asserting any constructive policy. The Board of Trade from 1740 onwards attempted to regain the initiative through a new approach of active policy making but drastically failed to provide cohesion. Sudden switches to imperialism no longer suited the colonies, which had increasingly been influenced by the progressively democratising and empowered assemblies. Therefore in terms of successful diplomacy little differed between George I (1714-1727) and George II (1727-1760) reigns, as both proved inconsequential. As a result by the end of this forty-six year era British colonial relations had oscillated greatly. Political control decayed because those in charge did not react soon enough, allowing financial necessity to prioritise their policy rather than focusing upon much needed consolidation.
             The theoretical approach applied to Robert Walpole's early eighteenth century government (1721-1742) resulted in a firm belief that it was acceptable to operate by an exceedingly non-interventionist agenda. This is not simply an interpretation of events by traditional political theorists such as Bernard Bailyn but a genuinely distinct psychological consciousness now known as the "Domain Theory of Empire.