The final Navigation Act repealed the older system and moved Britain toward free trade as part of the same political shift that ended the Corn Laws. This was a change in circumstance rather than a rejection of maritime power. Britain now occupied the position the Dutch had held in the 1650s because it dominated industrial production, merchant shipping, and the delivery of goods sought across world markets. Open competition therefore reinforced British advantages instead of exposing a weaker domestic carrier fleet. The contrast with the 1651 Act shows how trade doctrine followed relative economic and maritime strength.
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Why Britain repealed the Navigation Acts
The 1849 repeal marked Britain's shift from building protected maritime capacity to exploiting an already dominant industrial and shipping position.