ECONOMICS (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -Mercantilism led to the adoption of enormous trade restrictions, which stunted the growth and freedom of colonial business. Much of the trade that took place before the mid-17th century was controlled by the Spanish and Dutch, including to and from England.

Detailed explanation-2: -Mercantilism was a form of economic nationalism that sought to increase the prosperity and power of a nation through restrictive trade practices. Its goal was to increase the supply of a state’s gold and silver with exports rather than to deplete it through imports. It also sought to support domestic employment.

Detailed explanation-3: -Mercantilism was a popular economic philosophy in the 17th and 18th centuries. In this system, the British colonies were moneymakers for the mother country. The British put restrictions on how their colonies spent their money so that they could control their economies.

Detailed explanation-4: -Adam Smith coined the term “mercantile system” to describe the system of political economy that sought to enrich the country by restraining imports and encouraging exports. This system dominated Western European economic thought and policies from the sixteenth to the late eighteenth centuries.