Rise of shipbuilding in Massachusetts Bay Colony (1650s)

Timeline

1. 1651–1652Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony · MassachusettsEngland's 1651 Navigation Act required colonial trade to be carried in English-owned ships, and vessels built in the British American colonies counted as "English" ships; the act thus objectively gave Massachusetts shipbuilding a strong policy boost, prompting Boston merchants to invest in expanding shipyards.
2. 1652–1656Salem, Massachusetts Bay Colony · MassachusettsShipyards were successively built in Boston, Salem, Ipswich, and Gloucester, making heavy use of New England's dense oak and pine forests. Skilled shipwrights (including immigrants from England) gathered here, forming an industrial cluster with a complete timber supply chain, blacksmith shops, and sailmaking workshops.
3. 1655–1659New England coast and Atlantic sea lanes · New EnglandMerchant ships built by Massachusetts shipwrights were largely put into the triangular trade of Boston–Caribbean sugar islands–Britain: exchanging dried fish, timber, and grain for Barbados sugar and rum, then selling in Britain or trading directly for British goods. Shipbuilding exports themselves became an important source of colonial income, and the rudiments of New England's shipping industry were essentially in place by the late 1650s.