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Difficulty: MediumTransatlantic Trade and Mercantilism

“The ordinary means therefore to encrease our wealth and treasure is by Forraign Trade, wherein wee must ever observe this rule; to sell more to strangers yearly than wee consume of theirs in value. For in this posture... that part of our stock which is not returned to us in wares must necessarily be brought home in treasure.”
—Thomas Mun, *England’s Treasure by Forraign Trade*, 1664

The economic principles expressed in the excerpt most directly contributed to which of the following British imperial policies in the seventeenth century?

  1. A
    The creation of a free-market trade network allowing colonies to negotiate commerce directly with other European nations
  2. B
    The promotion of industrial manufacturing in the Chesapeake colonies to reduce England's dependence on foreign imports
  3. The enactment of regulations requiring colonial trade to be carried out on English ships and routed through English portsAnswer
  4. D
    The immediate transition from indentured servitude to chattel slavery across all colonies to boost crop yields for export

Answer

The enactment of regulations requiring colonial trade to be carried out on English ships and routed through English ports
The correct answer is correct because the economic philosophy described is mercantilism, which seeks to enrich the home country by achieving a favorable balance of trade. To implement this, England passed a series of Navigation Acts in the seventeenth century, requiring that all colonial trade be conducted using English ships and routed through English ports to ensure that England retained the profit and duties from the commerce.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the stimulus to determine the underlying economic theory.
The excerpt advocates for maximizing exports and minimizing imports to accumulate specie ('treasure'), which is the core concept of mercantilism.
Identifying mercantilism is the prerequisite step to connecting the document to colonial policies.
2
Recall British imperial policies that implemented mercantilist theories during the seventeenth century.
England established a mercantile system through the Navigation Acts to monopolize colonial trade, ensuring resources benefited the home country.
This links the historical economic theory directly to British parliamentary actions.
3
Evaluate the options to identify which choice describes the mechanisms of the Navigation Acts.
The option specifying regulations on colonial shipping vessels and port routing matches the historical actions taken by England to restrict trade.
This selects the correct answer while validating the historical accuracy of the choice.

Key Concept

Mercantilism and the Navigation Acts
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Topics

Transatlantic Trade and Mercantilism

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