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

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

England enforced the Navigation Acts by a combination of prohibitions and taxes designed to make certain forms of commerce too expensive to pursue.

From Textbooks • Jan. 18, 2018

Randolph was astonished to discover that officials in Boston, the largest port in North America, were completely ignoring the Navigation Acts on the grounds that their colony’s charter exempted it from acts of Parliament.

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

In 1651, the British Parliament, thinking it necessary to give their merchants some protection from this lively competition, passed the first of the Navigation Acts.

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