Navigation Acts.

From 1651 onward Parliament passed a series of laws called the Acts of Trade, or Navigation Acts, that attempted to regulate trade with the empire. The theory that underlay these acts was called mercantilism. The idea was that the colonies existed for the benefit of England and that their economic development should coincide with the interests of the mother country. Starting in 1651, the Navigation Acts established a system of regulations that worked both for and against colonial economic interests. Under these laws commodities transported to and from the colonies had to be carried on British ships commanded by British masters; three-quarters of a ship's crew had to be Britons. (In this case "British" meant anyone from the British Isles and American colonies.) This provision greatly aided American sailors and shipbuilders. Other provisions required that certain items called enumerated articles must...