The Navigation Act of 1485 was passed by Henry VII so as to build up a Merchant Navy. The Act ordained that the Bordeaux wines brought to Britain were to be carried only in English ships manned by English, Irish or Welsh sailors.
A later Navigation Act, was promulgated by the British Government in 1651 (or even, in a sense, in 1645) for the protection of British commerce and the carrying trade. Its renewal with a few changes was made in 1660, soon after the accession of Charles II. The act related to five subjects: Coasting trade; fisheries; commerce with the colonies; commerce with European countries; commerce with Asia, Africa and America, and was chiefly a move in England's struggle with the Dutch for the possession of the carrying trade of the world. Parts of the Act provided that all colonial trade should be carried on in ships built and owned in England and the colonies, (a provision which powerfully stimulated colonial ship-building) and that, in the case of many specified goods, trade should be with England only. The act was largely rendered inoperative by colonial smuggling. The efforts at last made to enforce it were among the chief causes of the American War Of Independence. Research Navigation Act
Abbreviations
General Information
Research Navigation Act