Enumerated Articles

views updated

Enumerated Articles

ENUMERATED ARTICLES. As part of British mercantilism reflected in the Navigation Acts and Trade Acts, certain colonial products that were allowed to be exported from the place of origin only to England or one of her colonies were "enumerated." The Navigation Act of 1660 put sugar, tobacco, indigo, cotton, ginger, and certain dyewoods on the list. In 1705 the list was expanded to include rice, molasses, and naval stores; furthermore, the colonists were given bounties for production of these articles. In 1721 the enumerated list included beaver skins, furs, and copper. The Sugar Act of 1764 enumerated hides and skins, pot and pearl ashes, iron, lumber, whale fins, and raw silk. In 1767 it was decreed that all nonenumerated goods destined for any part of Europe north of Cape Finisterre be shipped through England, but only a small percentage of colonial exports were affected.

SEE ALSO Mercantilism; Naval Stores.