Final answer:
The Navigation Acts were passed to strengthen the economic and political power of English merchants and colonial planters, to combat smuggling and protect the empire's economic health, and to maintain political and economic strength through trade restrictions on the colonies.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Navigation Acts were passed by England's Parliament for multiple reasons. First, they aimed to strengthen the economic and political power of English merchants and colonial planters. Second, lax enforcement of the Navigation Acts during King William's War led to increased smuggling and privateering, which endangered the empire's economic health. Third, after the adoption of the English Constitution, Parliament sought to assure political and economic strength by strengthening trade restrictions on the colonies.