WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Expert-Verified Answer. Correct answer choice is : 4) Maintain a favorable balance of trade for Great Britain with its colonies.

Detailed explanation-2: -Mercantilism is an economic policy designed to increase a nation’s wealth through exports, which thrived in Great Britain between the 16th and 18th centuries.

Detailed explanation-3: -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-4: -The ultimate purpose of mercantile policy was to enhance national strength, provide self-sufficiency, and pay for military power. Mercantile theory came to include the notion that no nation could be great without colonies as sources of markets and raw materials.

Detailed explanation-5: -Under mercantilism, colonies were important because they produced raw materials for the mother country, goods that the country would have to import otherwise (things like grain, sugar, or tobacco). The colonies also gave the mother country an outlet for exports, which increased jobs and industrial development at home.