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

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

West Indies merchants and planters depended on the Navigation Acts for protected markets in Britain, and while they grumbled at parliamentary interference, they would not endanger their privileged position.

From Textbooks • Jan. 18, 2018

Prior to the 1764 act, colonial violations of the Navigation Acts had been tried in local courts, where sympathetic colonial juries refused to convict merchants on trial.

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

With the exception of such spasmodic interruptions as these, and the partial enforcement of the Navigation Acts, the colony was left almost to its own devices throughout the Commonwealth period.

From Virginia under the Stuarts 1607-1688 by Wertenbaker, Thomas Jefferson