Nations Use Colonies to Gain Wealth
The economic policy of mercantilism held that national power came from wealth in gold and silver, so European rulers used colonies to supply cheap raw materials and provide captive markets for manufactured goods to maximize national wealth, as covered in Grade 7 California myWorld Interactive Chapter 9: Global Convergence. This system ensured wealth flowed from colonies to the ruling European powers. This topic helps 7th grade students understand the economic motivation behind European colonialism.
Key Concepts
European rulers wanted to make their nations more powerful. They believed power came from wealth, especially gold and silver. This economic policy, known as mercantilism , aimed to gather as much of this wealth as possible.
Nations used their overseas colonies to achieve this goal. Colonies were forced to provide cheap raw materials , such as wood, sugar, and cotton, exclusively to their ruling country.
Common Questions
What is mercantilism?
Mercantilism was an economic policy that held national power came from accumulating wealth, especially gold and silver, so nations used colonies to supply raw materials and buy finished goods exclusively from the ruling country.
How did colonies help European nations under mercantilism?
Under mercantilism, colonies were forced to provide cheap raw materials like wood, sugar, and cotton to the ruling country, which manufactured goods from these materials and sold them back to colonists, ensuring wealth flowed to Europe.
What were raw materials in the colonial economy?
Raw materials were unprocessed natural resources like wood, sugar, cotton, and metals that colonies were required to supply to their ruling European country, which then manufactured them into finished goods.
What does Grade 7 history teach about mercantilism?
California myWorld Interactive Grade 7, Chapter 9: Global Convergence covers how European nations used mercantilist policies to extract wealth from colonies by requiring raw material exports and forcing colonists to buy only European manufactured goods.
Why were colonies economically valuable under mercantilism?
Under mercantilism, colonies were economically valuable because they provided cheap raw materials for manufacturing and served as captive markets for finished goods, ensuring a flow of wealth back to the ruling European power.