StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...

The Role of the Colonies in the British Mercantilist System - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
"The Role of the Colonies in the British Mercantilist System" paper states that though the British mercantilist system catalyzed the creation of a strong British Empire, loopholes in it strengthened colonies. British Empire expanded using its colonies as a source of economic progress.  …
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER96.6% of users find it useful
The Role of the Colonies in the British Mercantilist System
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "The Role of the Colonies in the British Mercantilist System"

Download file to see previous pages

With King James II, British colonies turned into a source of profit and power for the British Empire. King James II attempted to create a centrally managed Atlantic Empire. Though the Glorious Revolution weakened the royal grip on power, King James II put forth the foundations of mercantilism, such as the need to expand economically in order to be a glorious empire. British colonies thus served to improve British economic status among other monarchies and independent states and towns in Europe.

Mercantilism was a policy promoting self-sufficiency among countries of the day. According to Nettels, “[t]he policy aimed to gain for the nation a high degree of security or self-sufficiency, especially as regards food supply, raw materials needed for essential industries, and the sinews of war”. With this goal in mind, the British aristocracy pursued colonies that could produce sugar, tobacco, and other food products. In exchange, they were required to buy English manufactured goods, or use the English merchants as intermediaries (Henretta & Brody 69).

This practice was prescribed by the Staple Act of 1663, according to which colonial planters bought most of the needed manufactured goods from England (Nettels 109). England prohibited trade with other European countries, as it could not impose favorable terms of trade (Nettels 105). English government designed laws that would keep colonies dependent upon the English economy: “Slaves must be bought from English slave traders. The area must depend upon English sources for capital and credit, and the planters could not avail themselves of legal devices in order to ease their burdens of debt” (Nettels 109).

Industrial development overwhelmingly took place in England. English policies were to encourage industrial development by any means possible, such as “tariffs, bounties and other forms of state aid” (Nettels 113). Unlike the English manufacturers, colonial manufacturers received no such subsidies (Nettels 113). English government ensured the policy was followed by forbidding colonial governments to assist colonies with any help whatsoever in the field of manufacturing (Nettels 113).

The British aristocracy encouraged the conquest of new colonies and imposed itself as a naval power (Nettels 106). Mercantilists viewed it as a government’s duty to guard favorable terms of trade and to store an adequate amount of gold and silver (Nettels 106). Therefore, according to the Navigation Act of 1661, the mercantilist government prohibited its citizens from all trade with foreign merchants and vessels (Nettels 109). Its military ensured the law was obeyed and they even imposed it on the Dutch and the French.

However, the mercantilist government did not create activities in the colonies. According to Nettels, economic activities sprang up from colonists, who decided which economic activity was necessary for their survival in new lands (108). As a result, the government only controlled a certain economic activity once it had proven itself to be profitable. The British government retarded the economic growth of plantations. The mercantilist system in England did not aim to promote economic development in its colonies.

  According to Nettels, economic activities sprang up from colonists, who decided which economic activity was necessary for their survival in new lands (108). As a result, the government only controlled a certain economic activity once it had proven itself to be profitable. The British government retarded the economic growth of plantations. The mercantilist system in England did not aim to promote economic development in its colonies. Mercantilism aimed to extract wealth from the colonies for the benefit of English aristocracy. 

...Download file to see next pages Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“The Role of the Colonies in the British Mercantilist System Essay”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/history/1457221-the-role-of-the-colonies-in-the-british-mercantilist-system
(The Role of the Colonies in the British Mercantilist System Essay)
https://studentshare.org/history/1457221-the-role-of-the-colonies-in-the-british-mercantilist-system.
“The Role of the Colonies in the British Mercantilist System Essay”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/history/1457221-the-role-of-the-colonies-in-the-british-mercantilist-system.
  • Cited: 1 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF The Role of the Colonies in the British Mercantilist System

International Political Economy - the US

The classical liberal approach suggested that free market should come up with system of setting the process of goods and services.... The mercantilist financial arrangement developed into free enterprise.... International political economy International political economy is growing at a fast rate in the society....
9 Pages (2250 words) Essay

Mercantilist theory

The theory and practice of merchantilism was refined by the French finance minister Jean – Baptiste Colbert as well as being reflected in the british Navigation Acts (Hobsbawm, 1975, pp.... Japan would become the role model for importing superior foreign goods, copying them and them exporting cheaper versions.... The aim of the paper “mercantilist theory” is to examine mercantilist theory, which equates to restrictions being placed upon free trade when governments are more prepared to intervene in the international political economy or if needs be to by pass it....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

The Diffusion Theory of Innovation

Other colonial empires followed in the 17th century such as the Dutch, the French, and the british empires.... the british colonization used the decentralized form of government controlling the constitution and foreign relations of its colonies leaving the international trade, public lands, as well as trade surpluses under the control of the government of its colonies (Grier 319).... the british also employs free trade agreement in its colonies and optimizes education of its people....
13 Pages (3250 words) Term Paper

Trade Theories assignment How Trade Shaped the World

A mercantilist… The basic mechanistic policy stipulated that the merchant class and some degree of the agricultural class agreed to pay tax not to the tribute of fief but in exchange for having The policies that government made to protect business came in many forms and in varying degrees.... On export power, the mercantilist policies were based on the notion that if a nation could expand its imports of gold by exporting goods, it would thereby deprive its rival nation of gold needed to protect a nation commerce, gold simply bought more protection....
4 Pages (1000 words) Assignment

Theoires Of International Political Economy

This paper will describe three theories presenting details of how they functioned and highlighting the role of the state in accordance with the theories.... He highlighted that capitalism introduced a system governed by money.... Economic theories that have defined the growth of different economies in different centuries are of interest in the modern day....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

Colonial Corporation of the British Emperor

The paper "Colonial Corporation of the British Emperor" gives a detailed description of the policies of the British to exploit the people of the colonies for getting benefits and wealth from them.... Different policies that were undertaken by the british Corporation are discussed here.... hellip; This study highlights the Colonial Corporation of the british Emperor.... the british colonial period started from the 16th century and continued until the 20th century....
9 Pages (2250 words) Coursework

Imperialism of Free Trade and the British Empire

The paper "Imperialism of Free Trade and the british Empire" examines the influence of the concept of Imperialism of free trade on the growth and collapse of the british Empire as far as imperialism and empire-building were necessities if the industrialization of a country was to survive and it could also be the source of its decline.... 581) The fears of David Hume will be substantiated by the decline of the british Empire amid the imperialism of free trade....
9 Pages (2250 words) Essay

America from Mercantilism to Egalitarian

The mercantilists also advocated for the possession of the colonies as the places where the mother country would acquire the needed raw materials that were not available in their countries.... In a mercantilism system, the government acted as the central role in modifying and regulating the trade mostly by imposing restrictions on the trade....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us