Menu

Mercantilism for Dummies

noun

pronunciation: 'mɜrkəntɪ,lɪzəm

What does Mercantilism really mean?

96 1
96
Hey there! So, the word "mercantilism" is a little bit of a mouthful, but don't worry, I'm here to help you understand it. So, basically, mercantilism was an economic theory that was really popular in the 16th to 18th centuries. It's all about the idea that a country's wealth and power comes from having a lot of gold and silver, and also by selling more goods to other countries than it buys from them.

So, let's break it down a bit. Imagine you have a lemonade stand. You want to make as much money as possible, right? Well, mercantilism is like trying to sell more lemonade than the other stands in your neighborhood. You want to have the most customers and the most money at the end of the day. This is kind of like how countries in the past wanted to have the most gold and silver and make the most profit from selling goods.

But, there's more to it than just making money. Mercantilism also encouraged government policies that would help a country become more powerful and wealthy. This meant things like trade restrictions, subsidies for businesses, and even sometimes taking over other countries' territories to get access to more resources.

So, to sum it up, mercantilism is all about a country trying to get as much gold and silver as possible, selling more goods than it buys, and using government policies to make the country stronger and richer.

I hope that makes sense! Let me know if you have any more questions.

Revised and Fact checked by Ava Clark on 2023-11-09 18:19:24

Mercantilism In a sentece

Learn how to use Mercantilism inside a sentece

  • Mercantilism is a type of economic system where a country tries to export more goods than it imports in order to build up its supply of gold and silver.
  • During the period of mercantilism, countries like England and France had strict trade regulations to ensure that they would make more money from their exports.
  • Colonial powers used mercantilism to exploit their colonies by extracting valuable resources and preventing the colonies from trading with other countries.
  • The idea of mercantilism started to decline as new economic theories like capitalism and free trade began to gain popularity.
  • Some of the key principles of mercantilism include protectionist trade policies, government intervention in the economy, and the accumulation of wealth through trade surpluses.