English Navigation Acts System

Timeline

1. 1651Westminster · EnglandUnder Cromwell, the English Parliament passed the first Navigation Act, requiring goods from Asia, Africa, and America to be carried in English or colonial ships and restricting foreign ships from transshipping European goods in English ports, directly targeting Dutch carrying trade.
2. 1652–1654English Channel and North Sea · North SeaThe Navigation Acts triggered the First Anglo-Dutch War. England enforced the shipping monopoly by naval force; though the war did not fully defeat the Netherlands, it set a precedent for later legislative strengthening and naval expansion.
3. 1660–1663London · EnglandAfter Charles II's restoration, Parliament re-passed the Navigation Acts in 1660 and enacted supplementary legislation such as the Staple Act of 1663, requiring colonial goods to be shipped to England first for redistribution, forming a complete imperial trade monopoly network.
4. 1665–1667Ports of the North American and West Indian colonies · CaribbeanIn the 1660s, the Navigation Acts were enforced in North American and West Indian colonies, provoking colonial merchants and leading to the Second Anglo-Dutch War. The Acts became the core legal instrument of British imperial mercantilist policy.