The Navigation Acts were a series of Parliamentary laws passed to control the trade of England's colonies. The original laws were enacted as a response to the success of Dutch shipping, even after the conquest of New Netherland by the British in 1674.
Unfortunately, in trying to legislate an end to competition, the Navigation Acts had economic impacts on the fledgling American colonies. The last of the acts, the Molasses Act of 1733 and the Sugar Act of 1764, could not keep exclusive control of trade in British hands, and contributed to the movements for independence in America.
