Mercantilist economic theory and policy, interconnected with wider political issues.

The rise of the modern nation-state, with bullion hungry treasuries would no longer be able to rely on a medieval style feudal economy to ensure its existence. The new form of centralized government would come to recognize the growing strength of merchant capital, and a commercial revolution of sorts would be born. No longer would Aristotle's ethical philosophies of 'natural exchange' and 'just price' be the dominate attitudes toward the economy. This new form of …

…only at sea or on the battlefield, but through a new economic system the likes of which could never have been imagined by earlier scholastics. The symbiotic relationship between merchant and state cannot be more evident. This paper has focused on the issues regarding the emergence of the European nation states in the mercantilist era, as I feel they are the most vital to fully understand the times in which our modern society was shaped.