B1718

__Navigation Acts 1786__ In 1651, Oliver Cromwell established the Navigation Act, but these laws were not seriously modified until 1786. These acts required that most goods imported from Europe into England and Scotland be carried on British ships with British crews. Also, these laws gave British merchants and ship-owners a virtual monopoly on trade with British colonies. The navigation acts were a form of economic warfare, with the Dutch as the initial target. The Dutch were far ahead of the English in shipping and foreign trade and these laws severely damaged Dutch shipping and commerce. Thereafter, France stood as England’s most serious rival in the competition of the over seas empire. The relationships between foreign policies in this time were more part of a war then a good relationship between two countries. 