Navigation Acts
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The English Navigation Acts were a series of laws which, beginning in 1651, restricted the use of foreign shipping in the trade of England (later Great Britain and its colonies). Resentment against the Navigation Acts was a cause of the Anglo-Dutch Wars and the American Revolutionary War.
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[edit] The 1651 Act
The first Navigation Act was passed in 1683 by the parliament of the Commonwealth of England led by Oliver Cromwell, reinforcing a longstanding principle of government policy that English trade should be carried in English vessels. It was reaction to the failure of a British counter the monarchal aspirations of stadtholder William II of Orange. The stadtholder had suddenly died however and the States were now embarrassed by Cromwell taking the idea quite too seriously. The British proposed the joint conquest of all remaining Spanish and Portuguese possessions. England would take America and the Dutch Africa and Asia. As the Dutch, however, had already taken over most Portuguese colonies in Asia, they saw little advantage in this grandiose scheme and proposed a free trade agreement as an alternative to a full political union. This again was unacceptable to the British, who would be unable to compete, and was seen by them as a deliberate affront.
The 1651 Act banned foreign ships from transporting goods from outside Europe to England or its colonies and banned third party countries' ships from transporting goods from a country in Europe to England. These rules specifically targeted the Dutch who controlled a large section of Europe's international trade and even much of England's coastal shipping. It excluded the Dutch from essentially all trade with England, since the Netherlands produced very few goods itself. This trade, however, constituted only a small fraction of total Dutch transportation. It's common to mention the Act as a major cause of the First Anglo-Dutch War, though it was only part of a larger British policy to engage in war after the negotiations had failed. The British naval victories in 1653 (the Battle of Portland, the Battle of the Gabbard and the Battle of Scheveningen) forced the Dutch to acknowledge the Act in the Treaty of Westminster (1654). The Act seems to have had very little influence on actual Dutch trade practices.
[edit] The Staple Act of 1663
The Staple Act of 1663 required all European goods bound for America (or other colonies) to be shipped through England or Wales first. In England, the goods would be unloaded, inspected, taxed, and reloaded. The trade had to be carried in English bottoms (i.e. vessels), which included those of its colonies. Furthermore, imports of 'enumerated commodities' (such as sugar, rice, and tobacco) had to be landed and pay tax before going on to other countries. This increased the cost to the colonies, and increased the shipping time.
Despite belonging to the English crown, Ireland was similarly excluded from colonial trade, except the export of 'horses and victuals'. From 1705, the export of Irish linens was also permitted, and from 1731 the import of non-enumerated commdities. These restrictions lasted until the 1780s.
[edit] Later Acts
A further four acts, passed between 1662 and 1773, altered the system, often imposing further taxes and restrictions on trade of English colonies. The Act of Union with Scotland allowed Scotland and Scottish vessels the same privileges.
The 1733 Molasses Act levied heavy duties on the trade of sugar from the French West Indies to the American colonies, forcing the colonists to buy the more expensive sugar from the British West Indies instead. The law was widely flouted, but efforts by the British to prevent smuggling created hostility and contributed to the American Revolution.
[edit] Repeal
The Navigation Acts were repealed in 1849 by which point Britain's utter domination of world shipping allowed them to pursue a more laissez-faire philosophy.[citation needed] The Navigation Acts were passed under the economic theory of mercantilism under which wealth was to be increased by restricting trade to colonies rather than with free trade.
[edit] Effects
Many scholars, including Adam Smith, have viewed the Navigation Acts as an example of inefficient state intervention. The introduction of the legislation caused Britain's shipping industry to develop in isolation. However, it severely limited the ability of Dutch ships to particpate in the carrying trade. This encouraged the expansion of the English (later British) merchant fleet, which became the largest in the world. The increase in merchant shipping and in trade generally also facilitated to a rapid increase in the size and quality of the British Navy, which led to Britain becoming a global superpower.
