But the merchants of England did not like this. They
wanted all this trade for themselves. So they had

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120 THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

laws passed which said that the Americans should not
trade with any country but England. All their rice,
tobacco, and other products must be sent there and
whatever they wanted in return must be brought from
there. But the English would not pay as much for
these goods as would other countries, so the Ameri-
cans lost much of their profit.
Then another law was made which said that no goods
should be carried to or from England in American ships.
All trade with England must be done in English ships.
The American ships might rot at their wharves. Even
the trade from one colony to another was partly stopped.
Restriction of Manufactures. — At the same time the
people of America were not allowed to make anything
for themselves. There was much iron dug from the
mines, but it must all be sent to England, and pay a
tax for going there. Then it was made into useful
articles and sent back, and had to pay another tax.
It was the same with other goods than those made of
iron. The laws became so severe that a farmer could
not even cut down a tree large enough for a ship mast
on his own land without permission from the oflSicers
of the king.
At first the laws were not so strict as this. But as
time went on, and the English merchants and manu-
facturers saw that the Americans were growing rich,
they had the laws made more severe, until the Ameri-
cans were allowed to do very little besides farming,
and had to get everything but their food from England,
in English ships.
