British Navigation Regulations from Enactment to Repeal

Navigation Acts (航海条例), a series of legislations on navigation and trade in English history.

The initial purpose was to encourage the development of English navigation and overseas trade. 1381 Richard II promulgated the earliest English Navigation Acts, which were enacted in 1485 and 1540, and in 1651, the government of the Anglo-Georgian **** and State of Holland, the main competitor of the English maritime trade, promulgated Navigation Acts which stipulated that all cargoes transported from Europe to England must be transported by English ships or ships of the country in which the goods are produced; and that all cargoes from Asia, Africa, and America must be transported by English ships or ships of the country in which the goods are produced. British ships or ships of the commodity-producing countries; all goods from Asia, Africa, America to Britain or Ireland and the British colonies must be transported by British ships or ships of the British colonies. Goods imported and exported from the fishing industry in British ports, as well as goods traded along the coasts of the British realm, were carried exclusively by British ships. These regulations marginalized the role of the Netherlands in international trade and jeopardized Dutch maritime interests, leading to the First Anglo-Dutch War in 1652. The Dutch were forced to recognize this regulation when they lost the war, and in 1661 the Navigation Regulations were issued, reaffirming the main points of the 1651 Navigation Regulations, and stipulating that certain products could only be transported to England and Ireland, or to the other English colonies.

The Second Anglo-Dutch War broke out in 1665, and with the defeat of the English, the Navigation Regulations were relaxed a little.

The Navigation Regulations issued after 1651 were designed to monopolize trade between Britain and the colonies, to maintain the dependence of the British colonies on Britain, and to restrict the economic development of the colonies. At the same time, however, there were positive effects on the economy of the colonies:

1. For the southern part of the United States, the production of shipbuilding materials and indigo was encouraged, and products such as tobacco and rice gained a reliable market;

2. For the north, shipping owners were able to protect themselves from the competition of the merchant ships of France, Holland, Spain, and other countries.

In 672 and 1692, the British government also issued nautical regulations. With the completion of the British Industrial Revolution, Britain began to implement a free trade policy. In 1849, most of the navigation regulations were repealed, and in 1854, foreign merchant ships were authorized to engage in trade along the British coast. At this point, the restrictions imposed by the Navigation Regulations were completely abolished.