Navigation Acts

British  

plural noun

1. a series of acts of Parliament, the first of which was passed in 1381, that attempted to restrict to English ships the right to carry goods to and from England and its colonies. The attempt to enforce the acts helped cause the War of American Independence

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Example Sentences

More theoretically, Congress resolved that Parliament had no right to legislate for the colonies at all, but agreed to respect the Navigation Acts voluntarily.

From Textbooks • Jan. 18, 2018

It regulated the colonies’ trade with the Navigation Acts, but could it govern their internal affairs?

From Textbooks • Jan. 18, 2018

Others blamed the imperial system itself and decided that conditions would improve if the Navigation Acts allowed them to produce their own manufactures, avoid British middlemen, and trade directly with foreign buyers.

From Textbooks • Jan. 18, 2018

In order to reap the greatest economic benefit from England’s overseas possessions, Charles II enacted the mercantilist Navigation Acts, although many colonial merchants ignored them because enforcement remained lax.

From Textbooks • Dec. 30, 2014

This is made amply clear by the reception accorded one of the few complaints which did actually touch the Navigation Acts.

From The Planters of Colonial Virginia by Wertenbaker, Thomas Jefferson