British Mercantile and Navigation Acts

Throughout history many countries and governments have enacted economic policies based in the principles of Mercantilism or Protectionism. Their policies would be based around the role of government in maximising a nation’s balance of trade. The English series of Navigation Acts, were the first legislation set down by the English parliament based on these pronciples and set about legislating against the use of foreign boats in the trade of England and its colonies. Through this restriction, and a subsequent increase in tariffs of foreign items, England sought to ensure that trade in English goods flourished, and that supporting industries, such as shipbuilding and the merchant navy, did likewise.

A British Man of War - Thomas Whitcombe - PD-art-70

The first of the series commenced with the 1651 Act of Parliament. Whilst this was the first parliamentary act, it should be noted that there had been previous Statutes, and was therefore a continuation of English practice dating back to the 14th Century. The timing of this first parliamentary Act can be attributed to some failed diplomacy by Cromwell’s Commonwealth diplomats. A proposed formal union between England and the Republic of Seven United Netherlands, had come to nothing. The Dutch government instead sought a Free Trade agreement, a proposal that would have cemented the Dutch as the major trading nation of the time. Already by the 1650s the Dutch had the largest merchant fleet as well as the largest trading network. The English saw this as a slight as the English merchant navy would have been unable to compete, and a large proportion of profit from trade with England and its colonies would have gone to foreign nationals. As an act of Protectionism Cromwell’s Parliament brought in the 1651 legislation.

The details of this initial Act focused on the import of goods into England and its colonies. The Act dictated that all imports from the plantations of Asia, Africa and Americas, were to be shipped in ships owned by “Englishmen”, these ships were also required to have been built by English shipbuilders and crewed by an English crew. At this point in history the term English related to any native of England or one of its colonies, and therefore an American colonist in one of the English colonies was also an Englishman. The other major terms of the Act was to stipulate that all goods shipped from Europe were only allowed to be shipped in English ships or ships from the country that had produced them.

No nation was directly named in the Act, but as the biggest trading fleet the Act would ensure that the Dutch traders would suffer. The Dutch fleet would in essence only be allowed to ship cheese and butter to England and its colonies, as these two items were the core produce of the Dutch states. The level of suffering can be argued though as the Dutch traded worldwide, and whilst growing the English colonies covered a fraction of the globe. The Act though has oft been quoted as a key contributory factor to the commencement of the First Anglo-Dutch War (1652-54). The war was won by the English after a series of naval victories by the English fleet in 1653, including the Battles of Portland, Gabbard and Scheveningen. In defeat the Dutch government was forced to acknowledge the Navigation Act.

The First Dutch War - Reinier Nooms - PD-art-70

With the restoration of Charles II, the 1651 Act was declared invalid, though rather than being repealed, it was re-enacted in 1660 as the First Navigation Act. Thus all the elements of the 1651 Act were made law once again, though the new law decided to make additional stipulations to protect English trade. Certain products produced by the English colonies were only to be transported to England or other colonies, these products included sugar, tobacco, cotton and indigo. In addition all transportation to the colonies had to be undertaken by English or English colonial ships. This 1660 Act was expanded by the subsequent Navigation Acts of 1662, 1663, 1670 and 1673. Whilst these Acts added other restricted products to the list or increased taxes on the transported goods, the 1663 Act is probably the most notable. This 1663 Act, also known as the Staple or Act for the Encouragement of Trade, stipulated that all European goods heading for an English colony had to be shipped through England or Wales first. This mean that goods were to be unloaded, inspected, have duties paid, and then reloaded onto English ships as required.

English colonies benefited from the early ramifications of the Navigation Acts. Goods such as tobacco and sugar had protected and dedicated markets, and because of duties on foreign imports sold in preference to the cheaper products of foreign nations. Shipbuilders in the American colonies also benefited greatly as English ships were required for all trade. The later Acts though saw the increase in duties on products between colonies, and therefore increasing the cost of simple products to the colonists. Resentment grew though, with the introduction of such Acts as the Molasses Act of 1733, as American colonists because of duties, were forced to buy the more expensive sugar from the British West Indies rather than the sugar from the French West Indies.

In isolation the Navigation Acts provided a balance to the colonists, of benefits and hardships. The Navigation Acts though did not operate in isolation as the English government also introduced further Protectionist acts. Acts such as the Corn Law of 1666 blocked the English home market to all foreign grown corn; further acts prevented the import of linen, woollen items (Woollen Act 1699) or hats (Hat Act 1732). Harsher acts, such as that of 1750, the Iron Act, prevented colonies from rolling iron. All were designed to ensure that manufacturers in the homeland prospered to the detriment of the colonists. At the same time bounties and rebates were placed on the raw materials produced by the colonies to the benefit of the colonists.

The effort to enforce the Navigation Acts, and prevent the associated smuggling, in later years was a great cause of resentment for the North American colonists in particular. The English government was in need of money to fund wars and upkeep the colonies but the colonists had no desire to pay the higher prices for goods. After 1765 there was arbitrary seizure of goods and ships owned by the American colonists and these actions have been seen as a contributory factor to the American War of Independence.

It should be noted that English government actions may appear to be harsh, but their view was that the colonies existed for the benefit of the homeland. The colonists benefited in some areas, in the production of raw materials and shipbuilding, but were penalised with high duties and the prevention of manufacturing. These actions allowed England to retain the balance of trade in its favour.

The Navigation Acts were finally repealed in 1849, by this time Britain dominated the world’s ocean both in terms of the Merchant Navy and Royal Navy. The British Empire no longer needed to restrict or protect trade, and were more focused on bringing in cheaper goods, especially food articles. The Acts prevented competition from other nations, such as the Dutch, making the English Merchant fleet the biggest on the world’s oceans. The Acts also contributed to the growth of the Empire, despite the loss of the North American colonies, and ensuring that London became the major world city for two hundred years

For further reading I would recommend:
L. A. Harper, The English Navigation Laws (1939, repr. 1964);
O. M. Dickerson, The Navigation Acts and the American Revolution (1951, repr. 1974).

Copyright - First Published 29th November 2007