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Navigation Acts

Definition

The Navigation Acts were a series of laws passed by the British Parliament in the 17th and 18th centuries that regulated trade between England and its colonies. The acts were designed to promote British shipping and allow Britain to reap the benefits of colonial trade.

Analogy

Imagine if your parents made rules about who you could trade baseball cards with - only siblings, no neighbors - so they could keep all the best cards within your family. That's kind of what Britain was doing with its colonies through the Navigation Acts.

Related terms

Mercantilism: An economic theory where wealth is accumulated through exporting more goods than are imported, often enforced through policies like tariffs and monopolies.

Salutary Neglect: An unofficial British policy during the early part of their American colonization where they loosely enforced regulations in return for economic loyalty from the colonies.

Triangular Trade: A system involving goods being traded among three ports or regions, often associated with Atlantic slave trade.