Mercantilism Essay - 966 Words

The year 1607 brought England into the quot;New Worldquot; with its first permanent settlement at Jamestown, and the following years would bring more American colonies to the British Empire. When sending people into the new land, the English planned to use a mercantilist policy and fully use the colonies for their resources. The colonists creation of the proverb quot;Mother countries exist for the benefit of their coloniesquot; is sufficient because Englands original intentions of mercantilism soon disappeared after their entrance into this new world. The reason for the decline in their motives can be traced to many occurrences, most notably benign neglect of the colonies and internal English conflicts. In many cases, the mother†¦show more content†¦As a result, many colonists had a monopoly on English trade. With only America trading tobacco with England, it was easy for farmers to make hefty profits on trades. As stated in â€Å"Virginia Resents Restrictions†, the c olonists were provided with a monopoly in England since they were prohibited to trade with other nations. At the same time, â€Å"Adam Smith’s Balance Sheet† shows that their relation with England also provided the colonists cheap manufacturing that they did not have the facility for. This is another example of colonists taking advantage of England’s policies; it proves that the proverb can indeed be reversed. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;With officials working for the betterment of the entire empire, colonies greatly reaped the benefits of being under the English throne. Although it may be expected that Englishmen would live better lives as a result of paying extremely high taxes and living close to the empire, it was in fact the opposite. Even with the direct correlation of the English with the government, colonists lived in a much safer economic environment. The policies enforced in England were enforced to a lesser degree in America. Not only did the colonists enjoy all the rights the English had, but the colonists also had the unusual right of self-government. While the British themselves were in many different economic problems, the colonists were living a relatively stable life without intrusion by the government.Show MoreRelatedMercantilism And The Development Of Mercantilism Essay999 Words   |  4 PagesMercantilism Mercantilism was a theory in economics, which was very popular between the 16th and 18th centuries, whose aim was to build a strong rich state through the regulation of the economy by the state (Wallerstein, 2014). This regulation of the economy was implemented by states through the reduction of imports and the increase of exports. These actions aimed at creating a â€Å"favorable balance of trade† that was characterized by monetary reserves of gold and silver (Rothbard, 2010). 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