England passed the navigation act to

The purpose of these laws was to ensure that only England benefited from colonial trade. The Navigation Acts were a series of laws that restricted the use of foreign ships for trade between Britain and its colonies, occurring from 1651 to about 1851.

Regulate colonial trade and manufacturing

Explanation:

It hindered it, just like in many other countries.

Class separation was huge which led to the majority of commoners being poor and living in dreadful conditions. The constant quarreling between wealthy land owners didn't help either as there were wars or something similar all the time. It was so bad that people had to have 10 children so as to have 2 or 3 reach adulthood.