Mercantilism was an economic theory and practice used by Europeans in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries to increase the wealth of a nation or empire. This was done by acquiring gold and silver and maintaining a favorable balance of trade, in which a country exported more than it imported. How did mercantilism encourage European countries to colonize both the Americas and Africa

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Mercantilism was an economic theory and practice used by Europeans in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries to increase the wealth of a nation or empire. This was done by acquiring gold and silver and maintaining a favorable balance of trade, in which a country exported more than it imported. Mercantilism encouraged European countries to colonize both the Americas and Africa under the promise of wealth and richness due to the many raw materials and natural resources that existed in the Americas and Africa.

European countries wanted to expand their wealth by exporting raw materials from colonies. Mercantilism motivated the Spanish crown, the British monarchy, and the French monarchy, among other nations, to found colonies to acquire resources and create markets for their goods.

Under the theory of mercantilism, colonies were allowed to trade only with the home country.

Mercantilism was the economic system that many European countries used in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. It is based on the accumulation of wealth by exporting goods and limit imports with the use of taxes.