Final answer:
The Navigation Acts of 1660 included restrictions such as requiring English or colonial ships for trade and limiting the trade of enumerated goods within the British Empire. These acts aimed to reinforce mercantilism but sowed seeds of colonial discontent.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Navigation Acts of 1660 were a series of laws imposed under the English government designed to strengthen the economic system of mercantilism by promoting the commercial interests of England over its colonies. Two main restrictions imposed under these acts were:
- The regulation that all goods shipped to or from the colonies had to be transported on English or colonial ships, with the captain and a majority of the crew being English. This was to ensure control over trade and bolster the English shipping industry.
- The specification of enumerated articles like sugar, tobacco, cotton, and indigo, which could only be shipped within the British Empire. This measure aimed to keep the wealth within the empire and prevent colonies from trading these valuable commodities with other nations.
These restrictive measures greatly impacted colonial trade and economy, contributing to growing tensions that would eventually lead to the American Revolution.