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Difficulty: MediumTransatlantic Trade and Mercantilism

“Forasmuch as wool and the woolen manufactures of... the English plantations or colonies in America, have of late been exported to foreign markets... to the great prejudice of the woolen manufacture of this kingdom: ... be it enacted... that no wool, woolen yarn, or woolen manufacture... shall be loaden or laid on board in any ship... to be exported out of the said English plantations or colonies...”

— The Wool Act, Parliament of England, 1699

Which of the following best explains the primary purpose behind the passage of the legislation excerpted above?

  1. A
    To protect the agricultural economy of the Chesapeake by subsidizing New England shipping lines
  2. B
    To shift the colonial labor force from indentured servitude to hereditary chattel slavery in the wool industry
  3. To preserve a colonial trade system where the colonies supplied raw materials and purchased manufactured goods from the mother countryAnswer
  4. D
    To encourage the development of local industrial capacity and free enterprise within the American colonies

Answer

To preserve a colonial trade system where the colonies supplied raw materials and purchased manufactured goods from the mother country
The correct option is correct because the Wool Act of 1699 represents mercantilism in practice. Mercantile theory dictated that colonies exist to enrich the mother country. By banning the export of colonial wool and woolen goods, the British Parliament sought to prevent colonial competition with English textile manufacturers, ensuring that the colonies remained exporters of raw wool and consumers of finished English woolen imports.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the historical source (The Wool Act of 1699) to identify what is being regulated.
The act explicitly prohibits the export of wool and woolen products from the American colonies to foreign markets or other colonies to protect English manufactures.
This establishes that the British Parliament was restricting colonial trade and production to avoid competition with the mother country.
2
Connect this legislative action to the broader economic policy of the British Empire during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
The restriction reflects the policy of mercantilism, which sought to maintain a favorable balance of trade for England by controlling colonial commerce.
Understanding the mercantilist context explains why the British government wanted to control colonial production.
3
Evaluate the choices to find the one that accurately describes this mercantilist dynamic.
The correct option is the one stating the act preserved a system where colonies supplied raw materials and purchased manufactured goods.
This aligns directly with the mercantile objective of keeping the colonies dependent on English manufactured imports.

Key Concept

The primary purpose of British mercantilist policies, such as the Wool Act of 1699, was to restrict colonial manufacturing to ensure the colonies remained economic dependencies supplying raw materials and purchasing finished goods from England.
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Topics

Transatlantic Trade and Mercantilism

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