How To Run A Colony Smoothly
The British are known for often playing by the rules only when they make them and even then not so much. The colonies in America were a valuable asset to England for many reasons. One of the aspects that made the colonies valuable was the goods they produced. Goods that England thought ideal to profiteer off of. In 1651 parliament approved the first of a few “Navigation Acts’ (America, 159). These navigation acts were implemented with the intention of siphoning as much value from the colonies as possible.
The way the act of 1651 impacted the colonial economy was by mandating that imports to the colonies or England from Asia and Africa be transported by only English ships. This was distasteful to many colonial…show more content… During the many wars that occurred in Europe a notion was developed that dominating trade and taking another countries resources was the optimal economic model. This avenue for running a country was refined and is now called the mercantile system. The mercantile system was great for the British because it favored bullying other countries.
As Britain increasingly appreciated how valuable colonies can be when it comes to producing raw materials for the mother country. Eventually it became obvious to the British how much more value they could be extracting from the colonies. This was alluring because it was a perfect opportunity to help them with their goals of global supremacy.
In 1660 a strong move was made by the British to increase their control of the colonies. This was accomplished once again altering how the colonists could do business. The British did so by ratifying another navigational act that would compound the previous one. This act specified that all trade between colonies must utilize English ships who also employ a majority of English crew. However the more major aspect of this particular act was that it required specific items only be shipped to England or English colonies. The initial items on the list were the most profitable products such as tobacco, cotton, ginger, indigo and sugar soon followed by other profitable items. (America,…show more content… While the British were busying themselves with obtaining wealth and power they lost touch with the how greatly they were affecting the colonies. The compounding nature of the navigation acts and the impact it was having on the colonial economy was the cause of great dissention in America. Although many colonial traders and merchants resorted to smuggling in order to circumvent the healthy taxes and impositions on trade, they were displeased that they had to go to those lengths at