How did the Navigation Acts benefit England?

Answer 1

The English Navigation Acts were a series of laws which restricted the use of foreign shipping for trade between England (after 1707 Great Britain) and its colonies, which started in 1651. 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 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 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. ("England" here includes Wales - though it was little involved in trade to distant parts. After the Act of Union 1707, Scotland enjoyed the same privileges). This Act entitled colonial shipping and seamen 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.[6] "English bottoms" included vessels built in English plantations (i.e. colonies), for example in America. The Acts were in full force for a short time only. After the Second Anglo-Dutch War, which ended disastrously for England, the Dutch obtained the right to ship commodities produced in their German hinterland to England as if these were Dutch goods. Even more importantly, England conceded the principle of "free ship, free good" which provided freedom of molestation by the Royal Navy of Dutch shipping on the high seas, even in wars in which the Dutch Republic was neutral. This more or less gave the Dutch freedom to conduct their "smuggling" unhindered as long as they were not caught red-handed in territorial waters controlled by England. These provisions were reconfimed in the Treaty of Westminster (1674) after the Third Anglo-Dutch War.

Answer 2

The Navigation Acts were a series of laws that restricted the use of foreign ships for trade between Britain and its colonies. These laws bolstered trade within the British empire, minimizing financial loses to foreign powers. The Navigation Acts were particularly crippling to Dutch traders, and led to a boom of industrialization and commerce in London. The Navigation Acts also led a sharp increase in the quantity and quality of the Royal British Navy, which led to England becoming a world super-power.

Answer 3

The Navigation Acts were a series of Parliamentary laws passed to control the trade of England's colonies. The original laws were enacted as a response to the success of Dutch shipping, even after the conquest of New Netherland by the British in 1674.

Unfortunately, in trying to legislate an end to competition, the Navigation Acts had economic impacts on the fledgling American colonies. The last of the acts, the Molasses Act of 1733 and the Sugar Act of 1764, could not keep exclusive control of trade in British hands, and contributed to the movements for independence in America.

Answer 4

it restricted the use of foreign shipping for trade between england and its colonies, a process which had started in 1651. Their goal was to force colonial development into lines favorable to england, and stop direct colonial trade with the Netherlands, France and other european countries,

Answer 5

The acts encouraged shipbuilding.