...country with limited resources, there were many was that England could do this, one of the ways was to acquire colonies in that could be a reliable source of raw materials. This is exactly were the colonies fell into place. After the colonies had been established, England could take advantage of the colonies and use them as a producer of the materials that were otherwise unavailable to them. As the colonies role, they were expected to aid what was referred to as the “Mother country” in order for them to achieve a favorable balance in their trades. Colonies supplied products such as tobacco, sugar, and grain. The mother country also created an outlet for exports through the colonies, which increased the industrial development, as well as jobs at home. Colonies reduced the dependence on foreign countries for England by providing them with raw materials, which would allow them to discard the idea of having to purchase it from another country. Furthermore, the colonies role was not only to supply raw materials to the mother country, but to buy products as well. This meant that the colonies were not able to manufacture products or goods that would compete with what things that were being made in England. England wanted colonies to have to import products, instead of making them, further benefiting England. This also meant that as a supplier to England, the colonies were not to export raw materials...
Words: 373 - Pages: 2
...counterpart of political absolutism.[1] It includes a national economic policy aimed at accumulating monetary reserves through a positive balance of trade, especially of finished goods. Mercantilism dominated Western European economic policy and discourse from the 16th to late-18th centuries.[2] Mercantilism was a cause of frequent European wars and also motivated colonial expansion. Mercantilist theory varied in sophistication from one writer to another and evolved over time. High tariffs, especially on manufactured goods, are an almost universal feature of mercantilist policy. Other policies have included: Building overseas colonies; Forbidding colonies to trade with other nations; Monopolizing markets with staple ports; Banning the export of gold and silver, even for payments; Forbidding trade to be carried in foreign ships; Export subsidies; Promoting manufacturing with research or direct subsidies; Limiting wages; Maximizing the use of domestic resources; Restricting domestic consumption with non-tariff barriers to trade. Mercantilism in its simplest form was bullionism, but mercantilist writers emphasized the circulation of money and rejected hoarding. Their emphasis on monetary metals accords with current ideas regarding the money supply, such as the stimulative effect of a growing money supply. Specie concerns have since been rendered moot by fiat money and floating exchange rates. In time, the heavy emphasis on money was supplanted by industrial policy, accompanied...
Words: 4905 - Pages: 20
...Contrast liberal and mercantilist theories of international political economy and consider which approach is most apparent in the contemporary world. The following seeks to contrast liberal and mercantilist theories that have developed to describe and analyze the international political economy. Once the contrasts have been made conclusions as to which theory is the most apt or apparent in the contemporary world will be drawn. Both liberal and mercantilist theories have advantages and disadvantages when used to understand the international political economy in the present global system. Perhaps it would be more apt to describe the liberal theory as being neo-liberal as it has undergone a recent revival in popularity. It must be remembered that whether a state is most influenced by liberal or mercantilists theories that trade will never be completely free of duty and tariffs, as they are useful sources of revenue for governments. Governments also have to have relationships with other governments and non-state actors that may or may not share their worldview. Liberalism itself can be dated back to the English, American and French revolutions of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, when the mercantilist economic system evolved into capitalism. Liberals were originally regarded as being politically centrist or left wing in outlook but favoring little or no state intervention in the economy. In its original form liberal economic theory strongly advocated a free market...
Words: 1452 - Pages: 6
...I. Britain A. increased wealth from slave trade profits i. price of slaves outweighed the prices of goods used to buy slaves a. (English exports) guns, iron, rum, cloth → Africa → slaves (English import) ii. profits used to strengthen British economy B. more jobs for British: shipyards, construction of port facilities & warehouses, distilling rum, manufacturing of iron products and textiles, etc C. developing basis of the Royal...
Words: 1530 - Pages: 7
...http://www.econlinks.uma.es/Escuelas/mercant.htm http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/Mercantilism.html mer·can·til·ism (mûrkn-t-lzm, -t-) n. 1. The theory and system of political economy prevailing in Europe after the decline of feudalism, based on national policies of accumulating bullion, establishing colonies and a merchant marine, and developing industry and mining to attain a favorable balance of trade. 2. The practice, methods, or spirit of merchants; commercialism. The Mercantilists For Europe, the 17th century was "the most horrible century", engulfed by interminable national, religious and civil wars, made memorable for their particularly savage brutality. From ashes and smoke, the national state was formed and enshrined in the Reformation-inspired contractual "natural law" philosophy of Grotius, Hobbes and Pufendorf. With the rise of the State, the 17th Century marked the ascendancy of two classes of peoples needed by the State: bureaucrats to run it and merchants to finance it. It was from the assorted pamphlets, studies and treatises of these groups of practitioners that Mercantilism developed. In England and Holland, the bulk of the economic writing was done by merchants drawn from their rising bourgeois communities -- thus the term "Mercantilism". In France and Germany, where the bourgeoisie was smaller, economic arguments were articulated largely by state officials -- thus French Mercantilism is better known as "Colbertisme" (named after...
Words: 5072 - Pages: 21
...CHAPTER 3 America in the British Empire ANTICIPATION/REACTION Directions: Before you begin reading this chapter, place a check mark beside any of the following seven statements with which you now agree. Use the column entitled “Anticipation.” When you have completed your study of this chapter, come back to this section and place a check mark beside any of the statements with which you then agree. Use the column entitled “Reaction.” Note any variation in the placement of checkmarks from anticipation to reaction and explain why you changed your mind. Anticipation Reaction _____ 1. _____ 1. _____ 2. _____ 3. _____ 4. _____ 5. _____ 6. _____ 7. The British government usually left American colonists to make their own laws pertaining to local matters. American colonial trade was severely crippled by British trade laws. The European Enlightenment had little influence on the thought of American colonists. Because they were part of the British empire, colonists were constantly involved in England’s imperial wars with France and Spain. Parliament taxed the American colonists as a way to express its authority over them, not because it needed. the money. Colonists protested the Sugar Act and Stamp Act as violations of their rights as Americans. Colonists protested the Tea Act because it threatened to raise the price of tea. _____ 2. _____ 3. _____ 4. _____ 5. _____ 6. _____ 7. LEARNING OBJECTIVES After reading Chapter 3 you...
Words: 4419 - Pages: 18
...Mercantilist believed that economic power was rooted in a favorable balance of trade, which means exporting more than one is importing, and the control of spice. Colonies in West Indies that produced sugar and other valuable commodities were seen to be more important than the colonies on the North American continent. It seem the colonies on the North American continent were seen primarily as markets. Even though they had valuable sources of raw materials. Despite trade regulations the colonists maintained a large degree of autonomy. Every colony had a governor who was appointed by either the king or proprietor. Although the governor had powers similar to the king, he was also dependent on colonial legislatures for money. The governor, whatever his official powers, was essentially strand in the new world. His power relied on the cooperation of colonists, and governors ruled according, only infrequently overruling the...
Words: 1707 - Pages: 7
...of Capitalism By; Professor; Marion Wyse Table of content 1:1…….…..………………………………………………………………………Introduction 1:2..………….………………………………………………………………capitalism history 1.3.…….………………………………………..….. Merchant capitalism and mercantilism 1:4……………………………………………….. Transition from 'feudalism' to capitalism 1:5……………………………………………………. Industrial capitalism and laissez-faire 1:6…………………………………………… Finance capitalism and monopoly capitalism 1:7……………………………………………… Capitalism following the Great Depression 1:8……………………………...………………………………………………... Globalization 1:9………………………..………………………………………………………… conclusion 1:10……………………………………………………………………….…………. References The History of capitalism 1; 1 Introduction | Capitalism as we all know is an economic system of producing wealth in which the wealth is privately owned. in capitalism, the land, labor, and capital are owned and operated by private individuals who are trading for one purpose that is, the generation of more income or profits in a legitimate way without force or fraud, by singly or jointly, and investments, distribution, income, production, pricing and supply of goods, commodities and services are determined by voluntary private decision in a market economy. A distinguishing feature of capitalism is that each person is entitled to his or her own labor and therefore is allowed to sell the use of it to any employee. In a "capitalist state", private rights and property relations are protected by the rule of law of a limited regulatory...
Words: 3339 - Pages: 14
...Superpowers geography How is power exercised and maintained? Direct power in the most obvious way of exercising and maintaining power. Exercise of direct power • British imperialism – wholesale conquest of countries. Insurgency put down by force. • Military power – US navy has 12 aircraft carriers and 70 submarines. It is the most powerful military machine on Earth. It established a ring of bases to surround the USSR in the Cold War era, as part of its policy of containment. The Iraq war saw the USA effectively “go it alone.” • Some economic power is direct. The USA plays a major role in world trade, much of which is conducted in $. The US $ is the world’s reserve currency. • A key area of US international prestige since the 1960s has been the exploration of space. 1969 saw men on the moon. The USA aims to build a moon base by 2020 and visit Mars by 2037. Exercise of indirect power • Neo-colonialism (term coined by Kwame Nkrumah, first president of Ghana) is a form of indirect control over developing counties, most of them former colonies. Has neo-colonialism prevented any real development progress in the 40 years since colonies gained their independence? Africa could lead us to say yes. India could lead us to say no. • Some people say the IGOs were set up by superpowers for superpowers. The IMF was set up in 1944. It has its headquarters in Washington. Counties wishing to have their debt relieved have to apply Western...
Words: 1545 - Pages: 7
...War of Independence or a Revolution? It should be understood that without understanding the causes, course, and consequences of the American Revolution, one cannot grasp the history of the United State. The American Revolution was the political commotion during the end of the eighteenth century. The thirteen North American colonies united to break free of the British Empire and become a new nation; The United State of America. A revolution can be defined as, the change in power or the constitution stirring in a relatively short period of time. Aristotle described revolution as complete change from one constitution to another (Sinclair 190). And this is precisely what happened two centuries ago in the United State. But the question needed to be answered is, was the American War of Independence really a war for independence or a revolution? The American War of Independence (1775–1783) was a climax in the political American Revolution rather than just a war for independence, ideologically influenced by the Enlightenment philosophers and writers of the Great Britain. Benjamin Rush remarked in 1787, "The American war is over, but this is far from being the case with the American Revolution. On the contrary, nothing but the first act of the great drama is closed." 2 This drama staged in the Pennsylvania State House in summer of 1776 remains the only most important chapter in the archives of American Revolution. Although, the political atmosphere in France...
Words: 4544 - Pages: 19
...During the 17th century, differing social, economic, and geographic factors shaped the Chesapeake region and New England. in different Throughout the century, New England maintained a strong, communal identity while the Chesapeake remained widely scattered. Through the hot river valleys of the Chesapeake had a climate that facilitated staple crop plantations and disease, New England’s extreme climate made mass production of staple crops and the spread of disease difficult. The combination of poor free men, and later, indentured servants and slaves, resulted in a larger rich-poor gap in the Chesapeake. When the New England settlers first arrived, they had strong ties to religion. They believed that it was their responsibility and God’s expectation that they create moral, Christian communities. John Winthrop reflects this in Doc. A by saying their failure would “open the mouths of enemies to speak evil of…God.” The Chesapeake settlers, however, had similar yet, separate, goals based on the economies. People’s main motives were not religious, but economic, there to “dig gold, wash gold, refine gold, load gold,” as per doc. F. This resulted in competition, rather than bonding, over the settlement. Document B reflects that people settled in New England with their families, whereas Doc. C shows that Chesapeake settlers were mostly single men. This happened because the religious freedom and practice was more appealing to families, to form communities that worship God, and resulted...
Words: 1386 - Pages: 6
...Middle Ages impact the Commercial Revolution? 2. What contribution did Luca Pacioli make to the Commercial Revolution? 3. What was the nature of banking in the Commercial Revolution? 4. What was a joint-stock company? 5. What was the Domestic System” in England? 6. What was the Price Revolution and what were its results? 7. What were the principles of mercantilism and what impact did it have on economics and politics? 8. In what ways did the Commercial Revolution sow the seeds of capitalism? 9. What was “Tulip Mania” in the Netherlands? AP European History • The Commercial Revolution • J.F. Walters & G.W.Whitton 2 The Commercial Revolution Journal 12/A: What important economic changes in the early modern centuries does the term “Commercial Revolution” signify? ––Palmer Chapter 12 • pp. 106-114–– Directions; Using sentences or detailed bulleted notes, identify & explain the evidence Palmer uses to support the thesis listed above. AP European History • The Commercial Revolution • J.F. Walters & G.W.Whitton 3 Background to the Commercial Revolution • Commercial Revolution basics ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ • change from a town-centered (medieval manorial) to a nation-centered (early modern European) economic system in spite of name, the economic change of the Commercial Revolution was slow in nature Commercial Revolution eventually would contribute to the first era of globalization impacted by developments in the Middle Ages ✓ ✓ ✓ • a term...
Words: 2335 - Pages: 10
...A Brief History of the International Monetary System Kenneth N. Matziorinis 1. Introduction The international monetary system is the structure of financial payments, settlements, practices, institutions and relations that govern international trade and investment around the world. To understand the international monetary system, we can start by looking at how a domestic monetary system is structured. The Canadian financial system, for instance, is composed of a) a currency; b) a central bank which issues that currency; c) financial deposit-taking and lending institutions such as commercial banks and d) the Canadian Payments Association. The currency used in Canada is the Canadian dollar. It is the means of payment, store of value and unit of account for all transactions conducted within Canada. It is the currency in which all assets and liabilities are measured. As such, exchange rates are not an issue in our domestic transactions. The country’s central bank, is the Bank of Canada. Its role is to issue the currency of the land, the Canadian dollar, to manage the supply of money to ensure that there is neither too much of it that could cause inflation, nor too little that could cause recession and to oversee the financial system, acting as a lender of last resort when the need arises. Commercial banks and other non-bank financial institutions are the main players in the financial system. They engage in the process of financial intermediation, which is the taking of deposits...
Words: 12586 - Pages: 51
...had already been established in the 15thcentury. The term Industrial revolution does not imply that changes happened only in the industry. In fact, the rise in the number of factories, the economic changes and the new inventions in science all had a great impact in the lives of the people in Europe and even the whole world. THE RISE OF THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION IN GREAT BRITAIN From the 18th to the 19th centuries, Great Britain was the leading force in industry. It had large deposits of coal and iron. Because of hips, it was easy for them to go to the markets. It had also saved enough capital from earlier trading ventures. Aside from this, the fact that Great Britain was not conquered by Napoleon the Great also played an important role. Great Britain was able to respond to the large demand for garments and metal products which encouraged the use of machinery in factories. How come Great Britain...
Words: 2414 - Pages: 10
...used in full without amendment [extracts may be used for criticism or review]; (4) the work is not re–sold; (5) the link for any online use is sent to info@adamsmith.org. The views expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect any views held by the publisher or copyright owner. They are published as a contribution to public debate. © Adam Smith Research Trust 2011 Published in the UK by ASI (Research) Ltd. ISBN: 1–902737–77–6 Some rights reserved Printed in England Contents 1 Introduction 2 The Condensed Wealth of Nations Book I: Economic efficiency and the factors of production Book II: The accumulation of capital Book III: The progress of economic growth Book IV: Economic theory and policy Book V: The role of government 3 The Incredibly Condensed Theory of Moral Sentiments 4 Further reading 9 32 42 47 59 77 84 4 7 1 Introduction Adam Smith’s pioneering book on economics, The Wealth of Nations (1776), is around 950 pages long. Modern readers find it almost impenetrable: its language is flowery, its terminology is outmoded, it wanders into digressions, including one seventy pages in length, and its numerous eighteenth-century examples often puzzle rather than enlighten us today. And yet, The Wealth of Nations is one of the world’s most important books. It did...
Words: 23406 - Pages: 94
