...Mercantilism is the policy that Great Britain, France, and Spain used with their colonies to try and gain economic prosperity. In essence, the colonies would provide the raw materials to be sent the mother country where they would be manufactured and then bought back by the colonials. This allowed the mother countries to effectively create a captive market where there was no competition and they could control prices. The mother countries also worked to export more than they imported, essentially trying to make the nations self-sufficient and amass wealth. While all three nations practiced mercantilism with their respective colonies, they each approached the policy differently. Both in France and Spain, the wealth accrued by mercantilism was held by the Catholic Church and nobility. France applied mercantilism through...
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...History 115 2 December 2009 Malleated Mercantilism Oikonomia as defined by Aristotle means “home economics”. While during Aristotle’s time this literally referred to the economic functions within a household, By the mid-seventeenth century Oikonomia was applied on a much larger scale. This expanded scale known as Mercantilism was centralized on theories revolving around state dominance, autarky, and monopolized industry. This strict system that subjected everyone and everything to the mother country’s will was adhered to with great loyalty throughout France. French royalty initiated a cycle of perpetual debt and inefficiency without realizing the true magnitude of their actions during Mercantilist times. Despite expectations and beliefs that the French were succeeding with an abundance of specie, the country and the people were actually being torn apart. With France in such a dilapidated state, there was an obvious need for change, help and opportunity. Ultimately, the amassing discontent with Mercantilism erupted as elucidated by the French Revolution. Initial response to the ideas of the Physiocrats as solutions was not positive or engaging, however, their theories would soon become the cornerstone of European economies. The multitude of Mercantilist failures in France bolstered the establishment of laissez-faire theories as the future of their global economy. The overarching economic theory of Mercantilism has no central book or founding author. However, it is agreed...
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...Introduction Mercantilism is the main economic system used during the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries. The main goal was to increase a nation’s wealth by imposing government regulation concerning all of the nation’s commercial interests. It was believed that national strength could be maximized by limiting imports via tariffs and maximizing exports. Mercantilism dominated the major European trading nations. This “mercantile system” based on the premise that national wealth and power was best served by increasing exports and collecting precious metals in return. It superseded the medieval feudal organization in Western Europe; especially in the Netherlands, France and England. Domestically, this led to some of the first instances of significant government intervention and control over the economy and it was during this period that much of the modern capitalist system was established. Internationally, mercantilism encouraged the many European wars of the period and fueled European imperialism. Historical Background of Mercantilism: Mercantilist held that a nation’s wealth consisted primarily in the amount of gold and silver in its treasury. Accordingly Mercantilist government imposed extensive restriction on their economics to ensure a surplus of exports over imports. That system thinks that if one country had more gold than another, it was necessarily better off. Such ideas were attractive to some government, such as Britain, French. There are some amusing stories of mercantilism...
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...Mercantilism is an economic theory practice, commonly used in Europe from the 16th to the 18th century that promoted governmental regulation of a nation’s economy for the purpose of augmenting state power at the expense of rival national powers. It was the economic 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...
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...Assignment on Mercantilism and Physiocracy PACourse Code: PA-511 Course Title: Public Administration Theories and Problems Submitted To: Md. Mashiur Rahman Assistant Professor Department of Public Administration Comilla University Submitted By: Md. Nazmul Haq Student of MSS Session: 2010-11 Class ID: 005 Department of Public Administration Comilla University Date of Submission: 5th February, 2013 Department of Public Administration Faculty of Social Science Comilla University Mercantilism and Physiocracy Acknowledgement In the beginning, I exert my gratitude towards Almighty Allah that I have done this great job. Then thanks to my honorable course teacher Md Mashiur Rahman that he has made the opportunity for me to do a work on such intellectual course contents. I think, in the way of accomplishing this assignment I have earned a lot of knowledge about Mercantilism and physiocracy and it is great achievement for me for sure. This assignment also has taught me about the historical knowledge of economic nature of different states in middle age.. Finally I want to get rid of my mistakes that age may be occurred in preparing this assignment such as spelling or occurred printing mistakes with the merciful mind of my course teacher Md. Mashiur Rahman.. Rahman Md. Nazmul Haq Class Roll-005 2|Page Mercantilism and Physiocracy Table of Contents Topics 1. Introduction 2. Mercantilism 2.1 Factors that Gave Rise to Mercantilism 2.2 Representative Mercantilists...
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...Mercantilism and the revolution. Mercantilism kind of reminds me of commercialism the way that it is the idea that all the colonies existed for the benefit of a mother nation and that the were compared to tenants who “paid rent” by providing things such as food and other materials for export to britain and this had a major impact on how the early english colonists felt about England and the king. so basicly like i said befor, an older version of commercialism. Colonists went to america because the people had heard that there was precious metals and gold in america that was free for the taking and that it was not guarded so the english sent of ships to go create colonies and bring back...
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...Mercantilism is a collection of governmental policies that are designed to regulate economic activity for the state or country. In the 17th and 18th century, a country’s power was measured by it’s wealth, more specifically their gold supply. Resources were scarce and trade had a limit. From 1600-1800 many different economic policies and institutions strove to enrich the state. In france, King Louis XIV’s chief master, Colbert, became a leading patron in mercantilism. Colbert recommended a balance of trade for France. His goal was to make France self-sufficient because he believed that trade let to problems within nations. He used state and support from existing and new industries to achieve the self-sufficiency. For example, Colbert granted privileges to luxury industries to encourage growth, and he granted special privileges to foreign craftsmen willing to move to France. In order to improve the communication and transportation of trade, Colbert undertook work projects in France. He also placed high tariffs on imported goods in order to reduce competition. He also created a powerful merchant marine for transporting French goods. The British relied highly on their colonial empire to promote economic growth within the restrictions of mercantilist thought. The Navigation Acts was established in 1651 and remained in act until 1786. In Britain, Merchants and shipowners a monopoly on trade with their colonies. Colonists had to use british ships for their goods and were expected...
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...From the mid-15th century until the mid-16th century a combination of factors prompted men to endeavor new routes; and it was new routes rather than new territories that occupied the imaginations of kings, commoners, scholars and seamen alike. During this time period mercantilism the economic theory that trade generates wealth and is stimulated by the accumulation of profitable balances that promoted governmental regulation of a nation's economy for the purpose of augmenting state power at the expense of rival national powers. Europe’s balance of power was constantly changing due to the exploration across the world and a rivalry for power , the balance of power within Europe was constantly shifting throughout the Age of Exploration, which...
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...Matthew Jensen Mr. Vitale British Lit 23 March 2015 British Control of the Bullion Mercantilism started around three hundred years ago for the wealth of the mother nation. The British government wanted colonies because colonies would increase their wealth and power. The thought was that no great nation would be able to exist and survive without colonies. In the beginning of the 17th century, mercantilism was becoming a popular economic theory in the British Empire. However, this is not the first time in history that mercantilism shows up. This economic policy appeared in France as a state intervention, which would protect the domestic merchants and manufactures. The origin of this economic policy comes from a man named Adam Smith....
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...Define Colonialism (Western) Colonialism: A political-economic phenomenon whereby various European nations explored, conquered, settled, and exploited large areas of the world. The purposes of colonialism included economic exploitation of the colony's natural resources, creation of new markets for the colonizer, and extension of the colonizer's way of life beyond its national borders. In the years 1500 – 1900 Europe colonized all of North and South America and Australia, most of Africa, and much of Asia by sending settlers to populate the land or by taking control of governments. The first colonies were established in the Western Hemisphere by the Spanish and Portuguese in the 15th – 16th centuries. The Dutch colonized Indonesia in the 16th century, and Britain colonized North America and India in the 17th – 18th centuries. Later, British settlers colonized Australia and New Zealand. Colonization of Africa only began in earnest in the 1880s, but by 1900 virtually the entire continent was controlled by Europe. The colonial era ended gradually after World War II; the only territories still governed as colonies today are small islands. http://www.answers.com/topic/colonialism#ixzz1lYMQdYfY http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonialism Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony, and the social structure...
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...2009 Samson Diegbegha 5/26/2009 Moscow University Touro; Course Title; History of Philosophy, Project Titled; History 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...
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...“NAVIGATION ACTS” TERESA HAMMOCK MR. CREWS US HIS 1111 1 DECEMBER 2013 Teresa Hammock Mr. Crews US History 1111 December 1, 2013 “Navigation Acts” The Navigation Acts were a series of acts passed by the English Parliament during the seventeenth century to protect England’s trade an prevent the American colonies from directly trading with foreign countries or other colonies. The Navigation Acts, in English history, was a name given to certain parliamentary legislations, more properly called the British Acts of Trade. The acts were an outgrowth of mercantilism and followed principles by Tudor and early Stuart trade regulations. Mercantilism was an economic system of the major trading nations during the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, based on the premise that national wealth and power were the best served by increasing exports and collecting precious metals in return. Mercantilist nations were impressed by the fact that the precious metals, especially gold, were in universal demand as the ready means of obtaining other commodities. The tended to identify money with wealth. As the best means of acquiring bullion, foreign trade was favored above domestic trade, and manufacturing or processing, which provided the goods for foreign trade. State actions were the essential feature of the mercantile system, which was used to accomplish its purpose. Under the mercantilist policy a nation sought to sell more than it bought so as to accumulate bullion. There was a rise in Dutch...
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...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 Jean-Baptiste Colbert, French minister of finance) and German Mercantilism as "Cameralism" (after the German term for the royal chamber). This difference in background between English-Dutch and French-German Mercantilists did not imply much difference in their economic doctrine. Both groups recognized the intimate, symbiotic relationship between the wealth of merchants and the power of...
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...like physicians, philosophers, men of letters and statesmen with different views, they had great unanimity of ideas. In the history of economic thought, physiocrats occupy an important place as they formed the first School of Thought. Unlike the mercantilists, the physiocrats were in close touch with each other, acknowledged a common leader, established organs of propaganda and presented a common doctrine Francis Quesnay, a physician and court doctor in France was the leader of this School of Thought. The physiocrats advocated returned to agriculture as the chief occupation. The restoration of natural justice and liberty was there aim. Hence Adam Smith considered physiocracy as a School of Agriculture or 'Agricultural System'. Factors Responsible for the Rise of Physiocracy Physiocracy was a revolt against mercantilism in France. This was due to the deteriorating economic and social conditions at that time which were chiefly due to mercantilist policies. The various factors responsible for the growth of physiocracy in France are enumerated below. 1. Tyranny and...
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...What major prerequisites allowed the industrial revolution to begin in Britain? Somewhere between 1740 and 1780, Britain experienced a series of rapid economic and social changes. This was to be the beginning of the Industrial revolution. Whilst this revolution would spread to other major countries around the world, it is undeniable that it all started off in Britain. There are many reasons for this, and it is important to note that there was nothing particularly unique about Britain in comparison with the rest of Europe, it was simply a combination of factors came together at the right time for Britain and allowed it to gain a head start in its own industrial revolution. One of the reasons why Britain’s industrial revolution began first actually has a large element of luck involved. Britain was very fortunate in that it had a large amount of natural resources, especially coal, that could be mined. This meant that Britain did not have to rely on foreign trade in order to manufacture their own goods, they could simply mine it for themselves. Iron was another natural resource that Britain was lucky to have in abundance. Both coal and iron would prove to be crucial in the construction of railways, which were vital for transporting resources, goods and people around the country at a much faster rate than had previously been possible. Coal and iron would also be required to build and, subsequently, fuel the factory machines that would manufacture all of Britain’s industrial goods...
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