Wensen Li
Reply question: According to imperial investigators – most famously Edmund Randolph – to what degree did New England obey the Laws (Acts) of Navigation? Please explain.
New England was highly dependent on long-distance trade as the primary source of direct income for its people. However, Acts of Navigation were set to regulate this lucrative trade, and it is expected that the people of New England were not happy with them. According to Mooney, it was becoming evident to any observer that these “acts of navigation were, practically speaking, a dead letter there because New Englanders broke the law whenever it suited them.” Imperial investigators such as Edmund Randolph came to more less the same conclusion. Given the fact there was a Mercantilist ideology in place that called for the New World colonies to only trade with England. Randolph reported back to the several heads of enquiry concerning the present state of New England that “the trade and navigation is carried on by a general traffic to most parts of Europe, as England, Scotland, Ireland, Spain, France, Portugal, Holland, Canaries, and the Hans towns (Northern Europe).” This suggests that the people of New England disobeyed the Laws of Navigation not only to generate income but to also enjoy cheaper goods compared to more expensive goods from England due to the taxes on trade set in place. Randolph also notes that the majority of magistrates in New England disregard these Acts of Navigation by stating that “these magistrates have continually disobeyed his Majesties command contained in his royal letters 1662, 64, 65, 66, and those of March last.” This suggests that a majority of officers of the state with a mandate to follow the law disregarded these laws. All in all, New Englanders disobeyed the Laws of Navigation at a high degree because they negatively affected their way of life.