For most of colonial history, English laws in the colonies were enforced by a number of officials. At the highest level was the Board of Trade, based in London. The Board was part of the Privy Council, the closest advisers to the king, and it had the power to review and to give assent to any laws passed by colonial legislatures. The colonies themselves were governed by royal governors, who with only a few exceptions...
For most of colonial history, English laws in the colonies were enforced by a number of officials. At the highest level was the Board of Trade, based in London. The Board was part of the Privy Council, the closest advisers to the king, and it had the power to review and to give assent to any laws passed by colonial legislatures. The colonies themselves were governed by royal governors, who with only a few exceptions were appointed by the King with the advice of the Board of Trade. Governors were guided by instructions given by the Board, which usually consisted of their expectations for how to enforce British policy. Governors worked with colonial legislatures, who passed laws that were supposed to (but often didn't) conform to British law. At the local level, laws were enforced by justices of the peace, sheriffs, and constables. Though technically they were enforcing colonial laws, they were positions that were deliberately created to emulate similar posts in Great Britain itself, and they were understood as part of the hierarchical structure that governed British society.
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