What were the effects of colonialism and mercantilism in America?

What were the effects of colonialism and mercantilism in America?

First to answer the question of the effects of colonialism and mercantilism in America we must have a clear definition of the two concepts presented in the question; colonialism and mercantilism. In simple terms colonialism is the action of control or governing influence of a specific territory and its people in other terms is the practice of domination which involves the subjugation, as for mercantilism is a system of political and economic policy undertaken by some European states between the sixteenth century and the eighteenth century. According to the system it allow state intervention, money was regarded as store of wealth, and the goal of the state was to accumulation of precious metals, it also involves a favorable balance of trade. To answer the question above we will explore four key factors; the history of colonialism by the British in America, the massive exit of Europeans to America (the new world), the economic development and the culture.

For a period of time and before 1660, the British didn’t acknowledge the American settlements because they were distracted by political chaos and a civil strife, all of this change when the monarchy was restore under what is known as the Stuart restoration which led the organization of settlements and exploitation in the territories of Maine south to Spanish Florida.  The reason of the massive exit of Europeans to America were because of a series religious reformations, the opportunities for stable economic life including cheap land, religious toleration, representative government and the implement of rights but in my opinion the most important was the concept of individual enterprise, sooner this phenomena would led to a highly economical state of the colonies. By the first half of the eighteenth the Europeans demanded tobacco, rice, sugar, meat, lumber, ground vegetables and other products. This had two effects the establishment of slavery due to the demand of cheap and easily exploited labor and because of the expansion of the colonies, British officials found necessary to passed a series of acts between 1660 and 1750 forbidding colonial producers to compete with British manufactures, and also that all trade between England and her colonies must be carry in British boats and other acts that restricted a fair competition, this would later led to the seek of independence by the colonies.

The American colonies grew in all the aspects population and economy in 1700 there were around 250 thousand people living in the colonies by 1775 there were two and a half million. The immigrants that populated America were from England, Germany, Ireland and Scotland all of them came looking for opportunities, freedom and without even knowing searching for the pursuit of happiness a key phrase that would be marked in the birth of a new nation. This mixture of cultures created a new society that had new ideas, new principles and a new vision.

So what were the effects of mercantilism and colonialism in America in my opinion the effects led to the birth of one of the strongest nation in the world not only this but also a new way of thinking from people that believed in new ideas, religious freedom, in a new form of government that would represent everyone equally (for African Americans this process would take longer) and most important in the concept that many still believe today “American dream”.