Sounds like an odd thing to say the day before Independence Day, but the British laid the foundation for a stable, republican form of government in North America.

The British attitude towards colonization was to let the colonists pretty well run their own affairs so long as (a) they were loyal to the Crown; (b) did not interfere with British commcerial monopolies; and (c) paid their taxes on time. The decentralization of power gave the colonists the experience in self-government that would be essential once independence was declared and after the war was won.