Navigation Acts

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

Example Sentences

The US Navy routinely carries out what it calls "freedom of navigation" acts.

From BBC

New navigation acts involving these taxes would become part and parcel of tightening Parliament and Crown control over American life, a cause of new colonial resistance to parliamentary and royal authority.

From Salon

In the 1660′s the English government imposed regulations on the Amercan colonies in the form of the Navigation Acts.

From Forbes

Mark: “That is correct until the 1670s, say, when New England encounters a series of very deep crises, a threat to its existence. The crisis comes from parliamentary intervention into New England’s trading: the rise of navigation acts, the threat to revoke Massachusetts’ self-elected governor or that Massachusetts elects its own governors, to impose a royal governor in a royal administration.

From Forbes

Sea-borne trade was the nursery of seamen, and commerce must be restricted to nationals by navigation acts, while commercial ventures of rival states were not alone a menace because they meant diverting profits to the benefit of a rival, but dangerous as the possible foundation for hostile naval power.

From Project Gutenberg