The English Navigation Acts were a series of laws passed by the English Parliament between 1651 and 1696. The acts were designed to protect English shipping and trade by requiring that all goods imported into or exported from England be carried on English ships. This had a negative impact on the English colonies, as they were no longer able to trade freely with other countries. The colonies began to look for new places to trade their goods, and this led to the establishment of new English colonies in North America, the Caribbean, and Africa.