Colonial governments
All the colonies had similar gov structure
Colonial governors were appointed by the british crown
The exception to this were the three proprietary colonies and the corporate colonies
Proprietary colonies - maryland, pennsylvania, delaware
The proprietary colonies had governors appointed by the proprietors of the land
The proprietors were the people who had been gifted land grants by the british crown
In the corporate colonies, the gov as appointed by the population
In theory, the gov was supposed to have a lot of power
But in practice, they had very little authority under british rule
They were often dismissed by british gov
They were paid by british gov, and heavily relied on them for revenue
Traditions of colonial democracy
Voting was a privilege for the wealthy and educated
Laws were a refection of the people's voice in the gov, so they varied from colony to colony
In 1735, journalistic freedom was established
Religious freedom was also established early, in the colonies