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Difficulty: MediumTransatlantic Trade and Mercantilism

“The merchants here do openly declare that they will trade with whom they please, and that the Acts of Navigation are against their natural rights... They trade with the French at Canada and the Dutch at Curaçao, and bring home wealth from all parts of the world, paying no duties to His Majesty.”
— Report of Governor Bellomont of New York to the Lords of Trade, 1698

The trade practices described in the excerpt most directly led to which of the following responses by the British government?

  1. A
    The promotion of domestic manufacturing within the colonies to foster local economic self-sufficiency
  2. B
    The relocation of Chesapeake tobacco plantation labor to Northern commercial ports to increase shipping efficiency
  3. The creation of vice-admiralty courts to try accused smugglers without local colonial juriesAnswer
  4. D
    The legal authorization for New England merchants to export native American crops like sugarcane and wheat directly to Spanish ports

Answer

The creation of vice-admiralty courts to try accused smugglers without local colonial juries
The correct answer is correct because colonial smuggling and resistance to the Navigation Acts led the British government to establish vice-admiralty courts in the late seventeenth century. Because local colonial juries frequently acquitted merchants accused of illegal trade, these juryless courts headed by royal judges were created to enforce mercantilist laws more effectively.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the historical stimulus provided in the excerpt.
The excerpt shows New York's governor complaining about colonial merchants defying the Navigation Acts and smuggling goods with foreign empires (the French and Dutch).
This establishes the historical context of British mercantilist regulations and the widespread colonial evasion of these trade laws.
2
Identify the historical response of the British government to colonial smuggling.
To enforce mercantilism and crack down on smuggling, the British government tightened administrative control by creating the Board of Trade and establishing vice-admiralty courts.
Traditional colonial courts with local juries regularly acquitted fellow colonists accused of smuggling, prompting the Crown to use juryless maritime courts.

Key Concept

The enforcement of and resistance to British mercantilist policies in North America.
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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Topics

Transatlantic Trade and Mercantilism

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