Grievance #16 of the Declaration of Independence
What happens when a government controls who you can trade with?
In Grievance 16 of the Declaration of Independence, Grace Richter, PhD candidate in history at George Washington University, explains how Britain tightened control over colonial trade through laws like the Navigation Acts.
For years, colonists had traded relatively freely, even with countries outside the British Empire. But as tensions grew, Britain began strictly enforcing these laws and restricting trade. The shutdown of the Boston port in 1774 made things even worse, cutting off a major hub of economic activity.
For many colonists, this wasn’t just about money. Trade was their livelihood, and controlling it meant controlling their freedom. What once felt like loose oversight turned into something much more serious: direct control over colonial economies and daily life.
This is Part 16 of our 27-part series breaking down every grievance that led to the American Revolution, building toward Independence Day.
0:00 I’m Grace Richter, PhD candidate in
0:02 history at George Washington University.
0:04 When Thomas Jefferson was drafting the
0:05 Declaration, an issue that frustrated
0:08 him and other colonists was Britain’s
0:10 control over trade. Starting in the
0:11 1600s, Britain began passing a series of
0:14 laws called the Navigation Acts that
0:16 attempted to control what Americans
0:18 traded and who they could trade with.
0:20 These laws were meant to keep the
0:21 colonies tightly connected with the
0:23 British economy.
0:24 But for a long time, these laws weren’t
0:26 strictly enforced. So, Americans got
0:29 used to trading pretty freely across the
0:31 Atlantic world, even with countries that
0:33 were rivals of Britain.
0:35 This sounds like a pretty good deal for
0:37 colonists.
0:38 But then things changed.
0:40 In the years leading up to the
0:41 Revolution, Britain began enforcing
0:43 these acts more firmly, hoping to
0:46 tighten their grip on the colonies.
0:48 In 1774, they even closed the Boston
0:51 port entirely to all ships to punish
0:54 colonists for the Boston Tea Party.
0:56 Colonists were furious, as many of their
0:58 livelihoods depended on trading goods
1:01 like timber and tobacco.
1:03 And for many colonists, the issue went
1:05 beyond money. They saw these acts as a
1:08 total violation of their natural rights
1:11 and their personal liberties.
1:12 Like so many other aspects of colonial
1:15 rule, they saw this policy on trade as
1:17 absolutely tyrannical.
