Name:During the 17th and 18th centuries (the 1600’s and 1700’s),Europeans believed in the idea that a nation’s power depended ontheir wealth. To gain wealth, countries established colonies whichprovided a constant source of raw materials and would also be amarket for the manufactured goods produced in the Mother Country,or the country that controlled them. For example, the colonists cutdown trees (raw materials) and the trees were sent to England wherecraftsmen made furniture, paper, barrels, and tools (manufacturedgoods). These goods were then sent back to the colonies and sold tothe colonists while the money went back to England. This concept,where colonies existed to benefit their Mother Country economically,is known asmercantilism. This process also helped England establisha favorable balance of trade, where a country exports (goods sold toother countries) more than it imports (goods brought in/bought fromother countries).
