Mercantilism+essay

Mercantilism  The mercantilism system was a theory that was embraced by the British authorities. This system was put in place on the American colonists to justify their control over the colonies. The mercantilism system despite being set up for failure, as evident in colonial America, has some advantages.   In the mercantilism system the colonists where expected to be loyal traders with Britain. The colonists where expected to export all the raw materials and sell them to British companies. In return the British companies where the main supplier of finished goods to the colonies. This benefited the colonist because it gave them a monopoly of some markets. However, when parliament took mercantilism as far as making it law, it became a bad thing for the colonists because it made English goods cheaper by making other foreign goods more expensive.   Mercantilism in theory could work, however, as shown in the case of Americas it was only set up for a rebellion, and ultimately succession. When Parliament passed acts such as the Navigation Act or the Stamp Act it outraged the colonist. It was mainly objected because it violated their strong belief in taxation only with representation, not because these acts supported mercantilism.  The Navigation Act required the goods being shipped to and from the colonies and Britain to be shipped on British vassals. This requirement not only created tension, but it created a place for smuggling. The Stamp Act was imposed on 1765 on the colonist. The act created a tax on paper used on all official documents. The Stamp Act was eventually repealed, but not with out strong colonial resistance. Parliament listened little to what the colonist had to say, but when the British merchants and manufactures started to hurt, parliament repealed the acts.  The Mercantilism system created monopolies on both sides. These monopolies where in most cases good because it meant that people had a market for their goods. However this also meant to economic growth. The mercantilism system despite being set up for failure, as evident in colonial America, has some advantages.