Navigation Acts

The English Navigation Acts were a series of laws which restricted the use of foreign shipping and trade between England (later the Kingdom of Great Britain) and its colonies. The Navigation Acts caused resentment in the colonies against England, a resentment that fueled the flames of the Anglo-Dutch Wars and the American Revolutionary War.

Early legislation

Statutes had periodically been passed concerning shipping since 1381, but little in the way of penalties was provided to enforce the principle that English merchants should use English ships until 1651.

Navigation Ordinance 1651

For further detail of the background see First Anglo–Dutch War.

The Navigation Act bill was passed in October 1651 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 an English diplomatic mission to The Hague seeking a joining of the Commonwealth by the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands, after the States of Holland had made some cautious overtures to Cromwell to 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 English 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 elsewhere 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 is 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 English 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.

The 1651 Act (like other legislation of the Commonwealth period) was declared void on The Restoration of Charles II, having been passed by 'usurping powers'. Parliament therefore passed new legislation. This is generally referred to as the "Navigation Acts", and (with some amendments) remained in force for nearly two centuries.

The Navigation Acts

The Navigation Act 1660 added a twist to Oliver Cromwell's act; ships' crews had to be three-quarters English, and "enumerated" products not produced by the mother country, such as tobacco, cotton, and sugar were to be shipped from the colonies only to England or other English colonies.

The Navigation Act 1663 (also called the Act for the Encouragement of Trade) 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, paid duties, 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.

This Act entitled colonial shipping and seaman to enjoy the full benefits of the exclusive provisions. There was no bar put in the way of colonists who might wish to trade in their own shipping with foreign plantations or European countries other than England, provided they did not violate the enumerated commodity clause.

Improving Laws

Various further acts were passed in the subsequent period, altering the system in various ways. Some imposed further taxes and restrictions on the trade of the English colonies, but others authorized (subject to payment of a tax) trade that had previously been prohibited. The 1707 Act of Union with Scotland allowed Scotland and Scottish vessels the same privileges as England and Wales. Ireland, as an English possession, 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 commodities. These restrictions lasted until the 1780s.

Molasses Act 1733

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.The molasses act was part of the sugar acts, which were renewed in 1763, and caused unrest with the colonists.

Repeal

The Navigation Acts were repealed in 1849 under the influence of a laissez-faire philosophy. 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. By 1849 "a central part of British capital's import strategy was to reduce the cost of food through cheap foreign imports and in this way to reduce the cost of maintaining labour power"(van Houten). Repealing the Navigation Acts along with the Corn Laws served this purpose, but also led to the break up of the formal British Empire.

Effects

Many scholars 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 had the advantage (to England) of severely limiting the ability of Dutch ships to participate in the carrying trade.The Navigation Acts, by reserving British colonial trade to British shipping, may have significantly assisted in the growth of London as a major financial centre, at the expense of Dutch cities. The increase in merchant shipping and in trade generally also facilitated to a rapid increase in the size and quality of the Royal Navy, which led to Britain becoming a global superpower until the mid 20th Century.

The Navigation Acts, while enriching Britain, caused resentment in the colonies and contributed to the American Revolution. The Navigation Acts required all imports either to be sold in England or bought from England no matter what price could be obtained elsewhere. The rationale was the theory of Mercantilism: the more money one country or colony has, the more power it will hold. The colonists resorted to smuggling. Writ of assistances were issued to enforce the Navigation Acts.

References

• Navigation Act 1651 at British-Civil-Wars.co.uk
• 'October 1651: An Act for increase of Shipping, and Encouragement of the Navigation of this Nation.', Acts and Ordinances of the Interregnum, 1642-1660 (1911), pp. 559-62. URL: [1]. Date accessed: 27 April] 2007.
• 'Charles II, 1660: An Act for the Encourageing and increasing of Shipping and Navigation.', Statutes of the Realm: volume 5: 1628-80 (1819), pp. 246-50. URL: [2]. Date accessed: 27 April 2007.
• 'Charles II, 1663: An Act for the Encouragement of Trade', Statutes of the Realm: volume 5: 1628-80 (1819), pp. 449-52. URL: [3]. Date accessed: 27 April 2007.
• 'Corporate Canada: an historical outline', Gerry van Houten, pg 42-43, 1991, Progress Books
• Craven, Wesley Frank, The Colonies in Transition, 1968