Lucia&Saucedo

"With the acquisition of colonies came the recognition that their purpose was to satisfy the needs of the mother country. The regulation of economic activities in the colonies, then, centered around the accumulation of wealth for the European powers, at the colonies' expense." []
 * Mercantilism** was the economic policy that England used to rule the colonies. This policy can be defined as,

Mercantilism did cause the American Revolution. Mercantilism regulation in the thirteen colonies began in the 1620's, when steps were taken to prevent importation into Britain of tobacco from Spanish and Dutch colonies. In the 1650's and1660's the British Parliment passes a set of Navigation Acts: Nagivation Acts are related to this topic because were common in mercantilist nations. []
 * Foreing built or owned ships were forbidden to trade with the colonies, and ships that did engage in this trade must have crews, 3/4ths of whose members were British (from Great Britain or Britain North America).
 * Various colonial exports enumerated, that is, these goods had to be shipped to Britan, from which, if they were destined for other nations, they would bwe re-exported. This profited shippers and merchants in Great Britain.
 * Colonial imports had to be shipped through Great Britain. This made it easier for the British to collect import duties.

In the 1600's England began colonizing the Atlantic Coast in North America. The English colonists in North America were politically and economically ruled by the English King. However this was no easy rule for the King. The colonists lived thousand of miles away in another hemisphere.
 * Mercantilism and the American Colonies**

Free Enterprise- Business governed by the laws of supply and demand, not restrained by government interference, regulation or subsidy. Also called free market.


 * Free Enterprise:** This beneficial neglect (salutary neglect) meant that the colonists actually were left alone to develop their own economic 'style' which was free enterprise. This meant they could own their own property, make a profit and not have the government control them. Consumers would ideally enjoy more choices and lower prices.