What was the british policy of mercantilism - idea
Reviews Rated 1 out of 5 by Stephanie from Disappointed The course was very disappointing. This covers a basic eurocentric world history course and barely touches upons economics. I would say this is a intro European history course for perhaps a middle schooler, and far from a college level course. I wish I did not buy this course. Date published: Rated 5 out of 5 by chhille39 from Just the right combination of economy and history Prof. Harreld reviews all the economically active regions of the world and the various stages of each one's development through contact with other societies and innovation as the world moves from traditional rural and agricultural economies to industrialized and more urban ones. what was the british policy of mercantilismWords 3 pages Views The Mercantile policy was an economic theory used in the periods16th to 18th century and it stated that prosperity of a nation was dependant upon the supply of capital and the total volume of international trade. This theory implied that a country had to employ protectionist policy click here prosper and this was thus done through the encouragement of exports and discouragement of imports.
Whag tools employed to facilitate this included tariffs and subsidies; therefore commodities such as gold and silver were prohibited from being exported. The Mercantile policy had both positive and negative impacts; both internally and externally.
What was the british policy of mercantilism, its internal impact mercantilsm less compared to its external impact. Internally, it brought about changes in governance system with the government controlling all the resources. It also saw the introduction of a capitalist system of governance.
The main positive impact of Mercantilism was the creation of riches for the British rulers and merchants. This was achieved through the exploitation of foreign lands such as India, Latin America and later on, Africa. The colonies were made to pay heavy taxes to their colonial masters thereby enriching the British masters. To make matters worse, merchants were given exclusive rights to mines and plantations to further ensure the availability of cheap raw material such as gold, jewelry and silver. In the long run, the British coffers were enriched at the expense of the colonies and as a result, the British gathered enough wealth that made them embrace the industrial revolution that was in progress McCusker, British Mercantilist Policies and the American Colonies.
Secondly, it paved way for the introduction of political economy as a scientific discipline. Many writers came up to write articles concerning Mercantilism with others criticizing it while other supporting it. Many discussions came up as to the meaning mercantillism mercantile with others stating that it was a zero sum theory while others argued that it was a system that promoted corruption and laziness in the country. As a result, this period saw the coming up mercantipism renowned political economist such as David Ricardo and Adam What was the british policy of mercantilism.
Adam Smith on his part criticized the mercantile system and agitated for a Laissez-faire economy where forces of demand and supply determined the prices of commodities. On the other hand, Ricardo called for the adoption of comparative advantage method in dealing with international trade.
An Economic History of the World since 1400
All these developments brought about changes in the functioning of the economy that led to the abolition of protectionist and adoption of free market economy. Considering the time in which mercantilism took place; that is, when most European countries were undergoing the transition from feudal governance to central governance, it paved way for international trade. Prior to the centralization of government, the economy was divided into feudal estates which made trade quite difficult to carry. However, with the transition accompanied by technological changes in shipping and modernization of urban centers, trade became easier thus promoting international trade.
Navigation menu
Therefore, with the mercantilism system in place, focus was made on how to improve trade. Another positive impact was the introduction of modern accounting that incorporated book keeping. This led to click accountability of transactions made mrrcantilism international trade.
As a result, a clear picture of balance of trade could be seen and a country balance of payment position easily determined.
This made trade much easier and further contributed to international trade McCusker, British Mercantilist Policies and the American Colonies. However, mercantilism had negative effects especially on the colonies. First, in pursuit of mercantilism, the political article source of the colonies were deprived. This went hand in hand with the deprivation of their human rights. They were subjected to harsh treatment with very little time to rest and yet they were working on there own lands. Secondly, the economic freedoms of the colonies were also deprived. This was in the form of expatriation of economic resources from the colonial land to British land thus enriching the British at the expense of the Colonies.
A History of the United States
Further still, mercantilism led to the erosion of cultural and religious practices of the colonies. With the introduction of Christianity during colonization, many indiginous religious believes of the colonies were eroded thus interfering with their religious freedom.
In conclusion, it can be asserted that British mercantilism paved way for the modernization of trade especially international trade. Comparative method of international trade was incorporated that saw two countries endowed with different resources mutually benefiting from each other. Above all, mercantilism initiated free market economy proposed by Adam smith that saw free functioning of the economy with little government interference.]
Excuse, that I interfere, I too would like to express the opinion.