The Navigation acts were a series of laws put into place by England. Written and put into place by Parliament in 1650, these rules were designed to benefit English trade. Throughout the following 200 years while the Navigation Acts were in place, three more versions were created, adding on to the original. The Navigation Acts put limitations on trade with other countries and the colonies. Foreign ships were not allowed to trade directly with the colonies. Everything had to go through England first so that they could make a profit. In the original Acts, those ships had to have a crew that was commanded partially by Englishmen. The later Acts stated that the crew had to be made up of three-fourths English workers. England did not just control
