Final answer:
During much of the 17th and 18th centuries, Americans lived under the Navigation Acts, which were a series of laws passed by the British Parliament to regulate colonial trade.
Step-by-step explanation:
Americans lived under the Navigation Acts during much of the 17th and 18th centuries. The Navigation Acts were a series of laws passed by the British Parliament to regulate colonial trade and ensure that the colonies benefited the mother country. Under the Navigation Acts, colonists were required to trade only with British ships, and certain goods like sugar, tobacco, cotton, wool, and indigo could only be sold within the British Empire (option C).