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What were the Navigation Acts?

The Navigation Acts were a series of twenty-nine laws passed by the British Parliament to control trade conducted by its colonies. These acts, passed between 1645 and 1761, required that any goods sent to England, Ireland, or the English colonies had to be carried on English (or English colonial) ships. To prevent colonies from trading directly with other nations, England required that the colonies sell their materials to English merchants or pay duties (taxes) on goods (such as sugar, cotton, tobacco, indigo, rice, molasses, apples, and wool) sold to other countries. European merchants also had to pay taxes on the products they sold to the English colonies. To counter these laws, merchants often smuggled products into and out of the colonies.

Further Information: "Navigation Acts." Electric Library. [Online] Available

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