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

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Navigation Acts

American merchants had long wanted to defy the Navigation Acts and trade directly with France, moreover, so a wartime partnership could interest both sides.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 18, 2018

The duties imposed by the Navigation Acts were quite valuable to the Crown, and produced as much as £140,000 per year as early as 1670.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 18, 2018

Nonetheless, without proper enforcement of Parliament’s acts and with nothing to prevent colonial traders from commanding their own fleets of ships, the Navigation Acts did not control trade as intended.

From Textbooks ● Dec. 30, 2014

Starting in 1651, England pursued mercantilist policies through a series of Navigation Acts designed to make the most of England’s overseas possessions.

From Textbooks ● Dec. 30, 2014

Despite the obviously ruinous effects of the Navigation Acts upon Virginia, Mr. Beer makes the assertion that there was no very serious and general opposition to them in Virginia.

From The Planters of Colonial Virginia by Thomas Jefferson Wertenbaker