Mercantilism – Write
down all that is
UNDERLINED
Characteristics of Mercantilism
1. “Bullionism” the eco. health of a nation could be
measured by the amount of precious metal [gold
or silver] which it possessed.
– ‘Hard’ money was the source of prosperity,
prestige, and strength for a nation.
– Bullionism dictated a “favorable balance of trade.”
• Export more than you import [a trade surplus].
 High tariffs on imported manufactured good.
 Low tariffs on imported raw materials.
2. Each nation must try to achieve economic
self-sufficiency.
– Those founding new industries should be rewarded
by the state.
Characteristics of Mercantilism
3. Thriving agriculture should be carefully
encouraged.
– Less of need to import foods.
– Prosperous farmers could provide a base
for taxation.
4. Sea power was necessary to control foreign
markets.
– Less need to use the ships of other nations
to carry your trade goods.
– Your own fleet adds to the power and
prestige of the nation.
5. Impose internal taxes of all kinds.
Characteristics of Mercantilism
6. Colonies would provide captive markets for
manufactured goods & sources of raw
materials. (Write down Chart too!)
Manufactured goods
Mother
Country
Colony
Raw
materials
Cheap labor
7. Trade is a “zero-sum” game.
– A nation can gain in international trade only at
the expense of other nations.
Characteristics of Mercantilism
8. A large population was needed to provide a
domestic labor force to people the colonies.
9. Luxury items should be avoided
– They took money out of the economy
unnecessarily.
10. State action was needed to regulate and enforce
all of these economic policies.
– State-sponsored trade monopolies.
Who Benefited Most From
Mercantilism? (Write this down)
• Monarchs.
• Merchant capitalists.
• Joint-stock companies.
• Government officials.
Plantation Life in the W. Indies
• Using your knowledge of the Spanish &
Portuguese during the Age of Exploration,
please compare and contrast both of the
European countries in 3 distinct ways.
Consider: exploration, conquest, slave
trade, colonial system, labor systems,
etc…
Technology & Environment
• Sugar plantations
– Grew sugar cane and processed the cane
into sugar crystals, molasses, and rum.
– The technology was simple but dangerous
– High expenses led to running large
plantations
• Environmental destruction
– Sugar production caused:
• soil exhaustion (repeated use of soil)
• Deforestation – due to a desire to open new fields
Technology & Environment
(Cont.)
• New food items introduced
– European colonization led to
the introduction of European
and African plants and
animals that crowded out
indigenous species.
– Colonization also pushed the
indigenous peoples to
extinction.
– Africans introduced
• Okra, black-eyed peas, yams, &
mangoes.
Slaves Lives
Slaves Lives
• Caribbean (W. Indies) society consisted of a
wealthy land-owning plantocracy
• A plantation had to extract as much labor as
possible from its slaves
• Slaves organized into work gangs
• Slaves were rewarded for good work and
punished harshly for failing to meet quotas
• Sundays, slaves cultivated their own food
crops
– little rest and relaxation, no education, and little
time or opportunity for family life.
Slaves Working in a
Brazilian Sugar Mill
Slaves Lives (Cont.)
• 4. Short Life Expectancy due to:
– Disease
– harsh working conditions
– dangerous mill machinery
– The high mortality rate added to the volume of the
Atlantic slave trade
• 5. Slaves frequently ran away and occasionally
staged violent rebellions
– Slave named Tacky in Jamaica
– Europeans began curtailing African traditions,
religions & languages