Mercantilism Advantages

The purpose of mercantilism was to increase power, wealth and self sufficiency for the mother countries. England, Spain and france would often compete with each other to gain colonies in regions such as North America, South America, Asia, and Africa. Raw materials such as lumber, wool, iron, cotton, tobacco, rice, and indigo were what England needed to be able to create manufactured goods. However, mercantilism in the American colonies were more dependent on the manufactured products of England. The Navigation Acts that were a series of laws were enforced by England so that they could make the American colonies more dependent on the manufactured goods of England.The American colonists were expected to buy manufactured goods like cloth, furniture,knives,

Mercantilist ideas emphasized that nations should strive toward economic self-sufficiency and that the power of a nation should be measured by the amount of its gold and silver reserves. Ultimately, a nation should arrange to produce everything it needed for its own citizens and sell surpluses to for hard currency. This metal reserve, in turn, could be used in emergency situations to pay for wars or solve shortages. Colonies, like those England had in North America, played an important part in this economic equation. They could help England become self-sufficient by producing things that could not be made or grown there such as tobacco, sugar, and tall masts for ships. Colonists could also provide a market for British goods, particularly manufactured products, such as woolen cloth or beaver hats. This meant that the home economy in England could become more fully developed, while the colonial economies were relegated to a role of supplying raw materials.

The British were actually more reasonable than most Americans have traditionally believed. For example, the navigation laws, laws that regulated trade to and from the colonies, would be seen as an American grievance but were not really enforced by the British government until 1763, which allowed people to smuggle goods, “But the truth is that until 1763, the various navigation laws imposed no intolerable burden, mainly because there were only loosely enforced. Enterprising colonial merchants learned early to disregard or evade troublesome restrictions. Some of the

Dictating that Massachusetts produce a certain annual allowance of cotton for the crown would be ridiculous. Due to distance, the Crown was unable to directly regulate economic policy and trade within the colonies so the colonists were forced to devise a regulatory system. This system allowed “a young business man [to] borrow money and move into trade, challenging the commercial position of older, more experienced merchants” (Text, 51).

The British had the idea of mercantilism where a the economys wealth was judged by how much gold and silver it had, the colonies supplied the mother land with materials and then the mother country produced products to sell back to the colonies

Britain was suffering harsh economic transformations that was making it difficult to thrive economically and rising population in Britain made it even worse. Therefore more money was needed to be made. The New World offered many raw materials from which they could manufacture items and sell them to other countries or their people thus starting colonizations in the New World. The more land they gathered, which they acquired forcefully at times, the more raw materials they were able to gather. These colonies became the source of goods that other nations were seeking to buy or trade for. This introduced the idea of Mercantilism to the new colonies and the people of Britain themselves. This process of mercantilism was not only helping the colonies, but the people who stayed behind too. There were new jobs due to the growing and flourishing of these colonies. As according to this website online,https://m.landofthebrave.info/colonial-times.htm, and many textbooks, the three regions of the New Colonies each had their specification in what they did to maintain an economic balance. The New England Colonies

The increasing conflict between Great Britain and the North American Colonies have been ever so increasing on various levels. As depicted in Document 3, many Americans have grievances that include such tyrannous deeds and acts imposed on them. Document 3 says; “The colonies are generally restricted in their foreign trade.” This statement is referring to the Navigation Acts of 1651. The document takes place in 1766 and written by Benjamin Franklin in an interview Benjamin Franklin was an American Diplomat for freedom. This document would be intended for the people of America to listen to what Their top diplomats’ opinions. The navigation acts restricted trade between any other areas but England. Any imports into the colonies must arrive on English ships. Furthermore, as stated in the document; “Many products, particularly those for shipbuilding and raw materials for manufacturers; mast trees, ship timber, iron, copper, … cotton, indigo, tobacco, skins and furs, they may not export.” These views furthered economic angry, as the colonies were built upon making a profit. In Document 4, in the perspective of “an American Farmer;” he states that Britain has imposed laws of taxation without the consent of the people. This

Mercantilism is an economic theory where a nation's strength comes from building up gold supplies and expanding its trade. Britain formed the American colonies so that they could increase their gold stores. They wanted raw supplies to make into products to sell and make money. They wanted America to pay taxes so that Britain could make money. America used the theory in that they thought they ought to, in order to be strong expand their trade beyond Britain. Countries like Belgium, and France wanted to also increase their trade, and expand it to trading with America. They also wanted to increase their gold stores by trading with America. Britain however did not want America to trade with France and Belgium and the Netherlands because they

This led to augmented disputes between Britain and the colonists over their relationship and colonists' rights. In 1650, the first laws passed were called the Navigation Laws, which tried to enforce mercantilism, an economic philosophy created by Britain to ensure that the colonies subsided to benefit them. In later years, Britain levied taxes such as the Stamp Act to pay for the troops and naval ships needed to protect the expanded colonies. This act taxed over fifty everyday items such as playing cards, newspapers, and licenses, and led to the well-known slogan, "No taxation without representation." In a letter written by Ben Franklin while in London to John Hughs of the American colonies, Franklin explains why he thinks it is best to abolish Stamp Act. People are beginning to resent Britain because of this new tax, but Franklin knows that being loyal to the crown is the wisest choice. He feels this will keep the colonies safe as they cannot protect themselves from the Indians or other threats, such as the French or other European colonial powers. As a reaction to this act, the political cartoon in Document H shows the colonists' anger toward the Stamp Act. They think their rights are "expiring," and want a new life with better rights. Problems between the former allies were continuing to rise. The British repealed the Stamp Act but replaced it with

The act was to set to try to stop the smuggling of goods so they required captains of colonial ships to post a bond that they would deliver enumerated goods to England or pay the "plantation duty" that would be owned in England. Similar to this Act was the Woolens Act of 1699, that Forbade export of woolen cloth made in the colonies, to prevent competition with English producers. In response, they wore their own products and refused to buy from British. Become desperate they even pass the Hat Act of 1732, which prohibited exports of colonial hats. This shows how well the colonies are to adapt to the changes. There is more like the Molasses Act of 1733, which was quite simply a tax on sugar from foreign sources. Their ideology was simple to tax and regulate what they can to maximize profit and minimize the influences the colonies had to other foreign countries. By taking away their rights to sell who they want to and what they could sell. The King and Parliament believed they had the right to tax the colonies. They decided to require several kinds of taxes from the colonists to help pay for the French and Indian War. These taxes included the Stamp Act, passed in 1765, which required the use of special paper bearing an embossed tax stamp for all legal documents. Other laws, such as the Townshend Acts, passed in 1767, required the colonists to pay taxes on imported goods like tea. Similar to a monopoly. British begin the main company and the colonies the company affected by

England, in an effort to establish greater control over North American colonies in the mid-1600s under the rule of King Charles II, implemented the Navigation Acts to regulate colonial commerce, along with increased British law in North America, most notably in New England. The Navigation Acts essentially created a monopoly in which colonial settlements could only trade with England, thus contributing to England's overall wealth and power, according to the theory of mercantilism. Before King Charles II passed the Navigational Acts, the English Parliament created laws that kept Dutch ships out of the American colonies, limiting some colonial trade opportunity. The first of these Navigational Acts kept the colonies from trading with any nation other than England, along with requiring the colonists that grew tobacco to only sell it to England. The second act required any country that wished to trade with the colonies go through England first, giving England an opportunity to tax them.

The Assemblies controlled the government because the assemblies have the financial power and all the support. The American colonies were failed as a useful government by the British. Navigation acts were laws that restricted the use of foreign ships for trade between Britain and its colonies, also its designed to implement the mercantilist. The English mercantilists object was to increase the wealth of the England in gold and silver, also to minimize imports that cost money and maximize exports and trades.. The merchants would sell products to foreign nations and purchased items to be sold within the nation. The nation would produce everything its people needed and but nothing from foreign

In the 1650’s, the British government longed to embellish its authority and establish more centralized control governing its Colonies. Parliament established the Navigation Acts which only allowed British vessels to ferry

Although the Navigation Laws were first created in 1651, they were not enforced until after the French and Indian War. The laws required all commerce being transferred to and from the colonies to be transported by British vessels only, European goods from America had to first land in Britain, and enumerated articles could only be transported to Britain. This sudden enforcement of such stringent laws angered the developing colonists and made them feel violated. After the Navigation Laws, the British took advantage of American colonies through the Sugar Act in 1764 in which they raised tax revenue in the colonies so that the British Crown could make a profit. Likewise, Britain collected more money from the colonists when they issued the Stamp Act in 1765, which required and taxed stamps on any paper document.

Mercantilism operated in the colonies. Mercantilism is the belief that the colonies existed to gain wealth for the mother country. England regulated trade by forbidding the colonies to trade with each other or other European countries. England took control over major port cities along the east coast and as a result, they were able to reduce the number of ships that traveled to other colonies and countries for trade. Because of this, the colonies saw a decrease in exported goods due to the British blockages. Also, England’s naval force was so powerful that other nations became intimidated by them and they stopped exporting goods to the colonies. As a result, inexpensive imports because rare and very expensive. The main purpose of this strategy was to benefit the British economy. Between 1651and 1673, the Parliament established four Navigation Acts and they were meant to ensure proper mercantilism trade balance. These acts established that only English ships could carry cargo to colonial ports, goods such as tobacco and rice could only be shipped to England and Scotland, the Parliament would pay bounties to colonists who made certain goods and raising the price of those goods in other nations, and colonists could not compete with English manufacturers. This was also an unsuccessful strategy because colonists disagreed and they went ahead and secretly began