A crucial role in Atlantic commerce played the Navigation laws. The primary purpose of the Navigation act was to move toward mercantilism and gain control and monopoly over the world market and increase the profit of England significantly (Foner 91). Those laws implied that the most expensive goods from the colonies, including North America, had to be shipped in the first place to England (Foner 91). Such active trade even contributed to the growth of shipbuilding in the colonies. However, the regulation was low, and it stimulated the growth of contraband which brought additional profit to the colonists (Foner 123). Moreover, the merchant ships were under the protection of England, and America had significant opportunities to trade and safely avoid the laws regarding smuggling. Eventually, North American colonies grew into the largest markets along with the West Indies selling manufactured products (Foner 122). Due to the massive spread of slavery and the recognition of it as a profitable business, the rivalry started to grow among the colonies.
Since it caused the rise of competition among them because they were producing and selling similar colonial goods such as tea, tobacco, and sugar, each empire was striving to get the most profit out of it. To earn more from the production that was manufactured in the North American colonies, they, apart from consuming it in place, we’re selling it directly to Britain (Foner 122). It was extremely profitable for their mother country since those goods could be reexported to other countries and continents with higher prices and taxes. Colonies that were included in the empire had certain benefits and were satisfied with the established conditions that allowed a decent amount of freedom to trade. Therefore, the laws and trade of Atlantic commerce allowed the North American colonies to earn more profit for themselves, additionally enriching their motherland – Britain.
Work Cited
Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty! An American History: One Volume. WW Norton & Company, 2016.