Old Virginia and her neighbours

46 OLD VIRGINIA AND HER NEIGHBOURS.the goods.This foolish act was intended to cripplethe Dutch carrying trade, and speedily led toa lamentable and disgraceful war between Englandand Holland. In its application to America itmeant that English colonies could trade only withEngland in English ships, and it was generallygreeted with indignation.Cromwell, however, didlittle or nothing to enforce it in America. CharlesII. 's government was more active in the matterand soon became detested. One of the earliestcauses of the American Revolution was thus setin operation. The policy begun in the NavigationAct was one of the grievances that kept Massachusettsin a chronic quarrel with Charles II. duringthe whole of his reign, and it was a source ofno less irritation in Virginia.A second Navigation Act, passed at the beginningof the reign of Charles II., prescribed that" no goods or commodities whatsoever shall be importedinto or exported from any oftheThe secondf. ,, •i-ii iNavigation king s lauds, islauds, plantations, or territoriesin Asia, Africa, or America, inany other than English, Irish, or plantation builtships, and whereof the master and at least threefourthsof the mariners shall be Englishmen, underforfeiture of ships and goods." It was furtherprovided that" no sugar, tobacco, cotton, wool, indigo,ginger, fustic and other dyeing woods, of thegrowth or manufacture of our Asian, African, orAmerican colonies, shall be shipped from the saidcolonies to any place but to England, Ireland, or tosome other of his Majesty'ssaid plantations, thereto be landed, under forfeiture of goods aftd ships."