WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Colbert’s idea was a “favorable balance of trade” in which goods were exported for gold, versus an “unfavorable balance of trade” in which gold would flow out of the country. Colbert also intended to get rid of internal tariffs, and to tax the nobility, but failed.

Detailed explanation-2: -Jean-Baptiste Colbert presided over the economic policy of France under Louis XIV from 1661 to his death in 1683. Colbert believed in the Mercantilist doctrine that the expansion of commerce (and the maintenance of a favorable balance of trade) was the key to State wealth.

Detailed explanation-3: -French Mercantilism Arguably the most influential proponent of mercantilism, French Controller General of Finance Jean-Baptiste Colbert (1619-1683) studied foreign-trade economic theories. He was uniquely positioned to execute on mercantilist ideas.

Detailed explanation-4: -What is mercantilism? Mercantilism is an economic practice by which governments used their economies to augment state power at the expense of other countries. Governments sought to ensure that exports exceeded imports and to accumulate wealth in the form of bullion (mostly gold and silver).

Detailed explanation-5: -Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Comptroller-General of Finances under Louis XIV, held almost all of the great offices of state over the course of his career. Considered an accomplished manager, he was responsible for developing trade, industry and the merchant navy, modernising Paris, and backing new advances in the sciences.

Detailed explanation-6: -Mercantilism is associated with policies which restrict imports, increase stocks of gold and protect domestic industries. Mercantilism stands in contrast to the theory of free trade – which argues countries economic well-being can be best improved through the reduction of tariffs and fair free trade.

Detailed explanation-7: -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.