On This Day
The Navigation Acts, or more broadly the Acts of Trade and Navigation, was a long series of English laws that developed, promoted, and regulated English ships, shipping, trade, and commerce between other countries and with its own colonies. The laws also regulated England’s fisheries and restricted foreigners’ participation in its colonial trade.[1] While based on earlier precedents, they were first enacted in 1651 under the Commonwealth. The system was reenacted and broadened with the restoration by the Act of 1660, and further developed and tightened by the Navigation Acts of 1663, 1673, and 1696.[2] Upon this basis during the 18th century, the Acts were modified by subsequent amendments, changes, and the addition of enforcement mechanisms and staff. Additionally, a major change in the very purpose of the Acts in the 1760s – that of generating a colonial revenue, rather than only regulating the Empire’s trade – would help lead to major rebellions,[3] and significant changes in the implementation of the Acts themselves.[4] The Acts generally prohibited the use of foreign ships, required the employment of English and colonial mariners for 75% of the crews, including East India Company ships. The Acts prohibited colonies from exporting specific, enumerated, products to countries other than Britain and thoar countries’ colonies, and mandated that imports be sourced only through Britain. Overall, the Acts formed the basis for English (and later) British overseas trade for nearly 200 years, but with the development and gradual acceptance of free trade, the Acts were eventually repealed in 1849. The laws reflected the European economic theory of mercantilism which sought to keep all the benefits of trade inside their respective Empires, and to minimize the loss of gold and silver, or profits, to foreigners through purchases and trade. The system would develop with the colonies supplying raw materials for British industry, and in exchange for this guaranteed market, the colonies would purchase manufactured goods from or through Britain.
The major impetus for the first Navigation Act was the ruinous deterioration of English trade in the aftermath of the Eighty Years’ War, and the associated lifting of the Spanish embargoes on trade between the Spanish Empire and the Dutch Republic. The end of the embargoes in 1647 unleashed the full power of the Amsterdam Entrepôt and other Dutch competitive advantages in European and world trade. Within a few years, English merchants had practically been overwhelmed in the Baltic and North sea trade, as well as trade with the Iberian Peninsula, the Mediterranean and the Levant. Even the trade with English colonies (partly still in the hands of the royalists, as the English Civil War was in its final stages and the Commonwealth of England had not yet imposed its authority throughout the English colonies) was “engrossed” by Dutch merchants. English direct trade was crowded out by a sudden influx of commodities from the Levant, Mediterranean and the Spanish and Portuguese empires, and the West Indies via the Dutch Entrepôt, carried in Dutch ships and for Dutch account.[5]
The obvious solution seemed to be to seal off the English markets to these unwanted imports. A precedent was the Act the Greenland Company had obtained from Parliament in 1645 prohibiting the import of whale products into England, except in ships owned by that company. This principle was now generalized. In 1648 the Levant Company petitioned Parliament for the prohibition of imports of Turkish goods “…from Holland and other places but directly from the places of their growth.”[6] Baltic traders added their voices to this chorus. In 1650 the Standing Council for Trade and the Council of State of the Commonwealth prepared a general policy designed to impede the flow of Mediterranean and colonial commodities via Holland and Zeeland into England.[7]
Following the 1696 act, the Acts of Trade and Navigation were generally obeyed, except for the Molasses Act 1733, which led to extensive smuggling because no effective means of enforcement was provided until the 1760s. Stricter enforcement under the Sugar Act 1764 became one source of resentment of Great Britain by merchants in the American colonies. This, in turn, helped push the American colonies to rebel in the late 18th century, even though the consensus view among modern economic historians and economists is that the “costs imposed on [American] colonists by the trade restrictions of the Navigation Acts were small.”[8]
1571 – La Laguna encomienda, known today as the Laguna province in the Philippines, is founded by the Spaniards as one of the oldest encomiendas (provinces) in the country.
The encomienda (Spanish pronunciation: [eŋkoˈmjenda] (About this soundlisten)) was a Spanish labor system that rewarded conquerors with the labor of particular groups of conquered non-Christian people. The laborers, in theory, were provided with benefits by the conquerors for whom they labored, the Catholic religion being a principal benefit. The encomienda was first established in Spain following the Christian conquest of Moorish territories (known to Christians as the Reconquista), and it was applied on a much larger scale during the Spanish colonization of the Americas and the Spanish Philippines. Conquered peoples were considered vassals of the Spanish monarch. The Crown awarded an encomienda as a grant to a particular individual. In the conquest era of the sixteenth century, the grants were considered to be a monopoly on the labor of particular groups of indigenous peoples, held in perpetuity by the grant holder, called the encomendero, and their descendants.[1]
Encomiendas devolved from their original Iberian form into a form of “communal” slavery. In the encomienda, the Spanish Crown granted a person a specified number of natives from a specific community but did not dictate which individuals in the community would have to provide their labor. Indigenous leaders were charged with mobilizing the assessed tribute and labor. In turn, encomenderos were to ensure that the encomienda natives were given instruction in the Christian faith and Spanish language, and protect them from warring tribes or pirates; they had to suppress rebellion against Spaniards, and maintain infrastructure. The natives provided taxes in the form of metals, maize, wheat, pork, or other agricultural products.
With the ousting of Christopher Columbus in 1500, the Spanish Crown had him replaced with Francisco de Bobadilla.[2] Bobadilla was succeeded by a royal governor, Fray Nicolás de Ovando, who established the formal encomienda system.[3] In many cases natives were forced to do hard labor and subjected to extreme punishment and death if they resisted.[4] However, Queen Isabella I of Castile forbade slavery of the native population and deemed the indigenous to be “free vassals of the crown”.[5] Various versions of the Laws of the Indies from 1512 onwards attempted to regulate the interactions between the settlers and natives. Both natives and Spaniards appealed to the Real Audiencias for relief under the encomienda system.
Encomiendas had often been characterized by the geographical displacement of the enslaved and breakup of communities and family units, but in Mexico, the encomienda ruled the free vassals of the crown through existing community hierarchies, and the natives remained in their settlements with their families.[6]
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Laguna, officially the Province of Laguna (Tagalog: Lalawigan ng Laguna; Spanish: Provincia de la Laguna), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Its capital is Santa Cruz and the province is situated southeast of Metro Manila, south of the province of Rizal, west of Quezon, north of Batangas and east of Cavite. Laguna hugs the southern shores of Laguna de Bay, the largest lake in the country. As of the 2020 census, the province’s total population is 3,382,193 [4]. It is also currently the seventh richest province in the country.[5]
Laguna is notable as the birthplace of José Rizal, the country’s national hero. It is also famous for attractions like Pagsanjan Falls, the University of the Philippines Los Baños and the University of the Philippines Open University in Los Baños, the hot spring resorts of Calamba on the slopes of Mount Makiling, Pila historic town plaza, Taytay Falls in Majayjay, the wood carvings and papier-mâché created by the people of Paeté, the annual Sampaguita Festival in San Pedro, the turumba of Pakil, the tsinelas footwears from Liliw, the Pandan Festival of Luisiana, the Seven Lakes of San Pablo, and the Nagcarlan Underground Cemetery in Nagcarlan.
This province is a part of Greater Manila Area.
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Born On This Day
1853 – Elizabeth Plankinton, American philanthropist (d. 1923)
Elizabeth Ann[4] or Anne[5] Plankinton (July 27, 1853 – 1923) was an American philanthropist in the early 20th century, the daughter of Milwaukee businessman John Plankinton. She was also known as “Miss Lizzie” and the people of Milwaukee called Plankinton the “municipal patroness” because of her generosity. She made a large donation that built the first YWCA in Milwaukee. She also purchased an elaborate large-scale pipe organ for the newly constructed city auditorium.
She supported local artists and artisans. One of her notable gifts was the 1885 statue of George Washington that was ultimately placed in Milwaukee’s Monument Square. It is nine feet tall and sits on a twelve-foot base. This was the first piece of public art for the city and was sculpted by her fiancé.
Plankinton had a three-bedroom mansion built for her in an upscale Milwaukee neighborhood as a wedding gift from her father. Her fiancé abandoned her for a dancer from Minneapolis. Distraught, Plankinton lost interest in the mansion. It stood empty for a decade and was eventually purchased by a widow.
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1857 – Ballington Booth, English-American activist, co-founded Volunteers of America (d. 1940)
Ballington Booth (July 28, 1857 – October 5, 1940) was a British-born American Christian minister who co-founded Volunteers of America, a Christian charitable organization, and became its first General (1896-1940). He was a former officer in The Salvation Army.
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FYI
Ideas
By JPGrox: 3D Printed Dog Puzzle Using Tinkercad
By Gammawave: Multi Tier Fountain
Recipes
By Betty Crocker Kitchens: Stress Less with These All-in-One Dinners
BY KATHY HESTER, FOOD TALK DAILY: Lavender Syrup With Coconut Sugar for Coffee, Tea, or Other Drinks
By Michele Brosius, Food Talk Daily: Homemade Coffee Whipped Cream
RecipeTinEats
- Prawn cocktail mini tacos January 24, 2025Prawn cocktails, in canapé form! These one-bite mini tacos are fantastic finger food, and you’ll love the nifty trick for making the miniature taco shells – just use an upside-down muffin tin! Prawn cocktail mini tacos Though you’ll catch me eating the leftover prawn filling by the spoonful, the star of today’s recipe, is not... […]Nagi
- 8 minute Lebanese Pizza – chicken mince recipe! January 22, 2025Invented in pursuit of more interesting ways to use chicken mince, today’s recipe is a SOS take on lahmacun, Lebanese pizzas made with flatbreads topped with a thin layer of meat. Astoundingly fast to make, and extremely versatile – use any ground meat, add vegetables, and endless topping options! Dear Lebanese nationals Dear Lebanese nationals,... […]Nagi
wikimedia
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for January 24 January 24, 2025Picture of the day A local train from Arosa to Chur crosses the Langwieser Viaduct, Langwies, Switzerland. The train is hauled by an ABe 8/12 "Allegra" EMU
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for January 23 January 23, 2025Picture of the day Actress Mitzi Akaha 2024 at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Today kicks off the 41st edition of the famous festival.
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Stump the Bookseller is a service offered by Loganberry Books to reconnect people to the books they love but can’t quite remember. In brief (for more detailed information see our About page), people can post their memories here, and the hivemind goes to work. After all, the collective mind of bibliophiles, readers, parents and librarians around the world is much better than just a few of us thinking. Together with these wonderful Stumper Magicians, we have a nearly 50% success rate in finding these long lost but treasured books. The more concrete the book description, the better the success rate, of course. It is a labor of love to keep it going, and there is a modest fee. Please see the How To page to find price information and details on how to submit your Book Stumper and payment.
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