MERCANTILISM, CAPITALISM,
AND COLONIALISM
1400s-1600s
THE WORLD IN 1490
ECONOMIC THEORY
Capitalism
 Economic system in which
individuals and corporations
invest in business to earn profits
Mercantilism
 Theory that nations become
powerful by storing gold and
silver
 How to get gold and silver:
 Export (sell) more than import (buy)
 Set up colonies to get gold and
resources
WHY EXPLORE?
1400’s
 Find a water route to Asia
1500’s-1700’s
 Establish colonies and find gold and other
resources
VOCABULARY
Colony
 Group of people who settle in a
new land but remain loyal to
their mother country
Charter
 Document that gives a person
the right to create settlements in
an area
NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICAN COLONIES
New Spain
New France
13 English Colonies
England’s colonies were
divided into three
geographical regions:
 North (New England)
 Middle
 South
EUROPEAN COLONIES IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE
Map Key
New Spain
New France
13 English
(British) Colonies
WHY BECOME A COLONIST?
Push Factors
Pull Factors
(Why leave Europe)
(Why come to America)
No Land
Lots of Cheap Land
Religious Persecution
Religious Freedom
Monarchy
Self-Government
Economic Problems
Economic Opportunity
EUROPEANS IN AMERICA
What kind of
materials did
they find in
North
America?
How did they
treat the
Native
Americans
Spain
France
England
Gold and silver
Beaver fur
Furs, lumber,
tobacco, iron,
whale oil, corn
• Took land
• Did not take • Took land
• Killed them
land
through war
• Built
• Traded
missions
• Inter-married
• Inter-married