The Navigation Acts
What were they?
The navigation acts were a set of laws that prohibited(stopped) the colonists from trading with any other country except Great Britain. Therefore, if the colonial merchants wanted to make a profitable trade elsewhere, they were not able to. The colonists ran the possibility of losing money as Great Britain wanted to make use of the Colonies as profitable as possible.
Importance:
The Navigation Acts expanded the power of the Admiralty Courts. These admiralty courts consisted of ONE judge and that one judge heard the defense and handed down rulings. There was no jury. These admiralty courts were located strictly in Great Britain or British controlled territories. They were not however in the colonies. Therefore, violators of the Navigation Act would be sentenced to these Admiralty Courts. As colonists, they would get a biased court judge who almost always found Colonists guilty, despite defenses.
The navigation acts were a set of laws that prohibited(stopped) the colonists from trading with any other country except Great Britain. Therefore, if the colonial merchants wanted to make a profitable trade elsewhere, they were not able to. The colonists ran the possibility of losing money as Great Britain wanted to make use of the Colonies as profitable as possible.
Importance:
The Navigation Acts expanded the power of the Admiralty Courts. These admiralty courts consisted of ONE judge and that one judge heard the defense and handed down rulings. There was no jury. These admiralty courts were located strictly in Great Britain or British controlled territories. They were not however in the colonies. Therefore, violators of the Navigation Act would be sentenced to these Admiralty Courts. As colonists, they would get a biased court judge who almost always found Colonists guilty, despite defenses.