The Merits and Menace of Mercantilism.

During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the economic theory utilized by Great Britain towards its empire was known as mercantilism. The idea behind mercantilism was to amass wealth through a favorable balance of trade, or exporting more goods than were imported. Within the idea of mercantilism, the colonies were meant to be a source of raw materials and a market for manufactured products. Even though the mercantile theory seemed to prosper between England and the …

…many were questioning their own political independence to England. Americans scoffed at the excuses Britain expressed when they were asked why they taxed the colonies; the colonists believed the British Parliament was attempting to deceive them out of the small amount of independence they had. Although mercantilism appeared to have helped the colonies, the colonists' resentment toward it proved to be greater than its positive effects. This chain of logic eventually led to revolutionary consequences.