Mercantilism

Mercantilism was an economic doctrine and set of state policies that sought to strengthen states through regulated trade, export surpluses, and accumulation of precious metals.

Bullionism: The doctrine that a state’s wealth and power depend on accumulating gold and silver. Bullion reserves were a direct measure of national strength in many mercantilist programs.
Jean-Baptiste Colbert: A French statesman under Louis XIV who promoted manufacturing, trade regulation, and royal finance. His policies became a prominent French model of state-directed commerce.
Adam Smith: A Scottish moral philosopher and economist whose work helped establish classical political economy. Smith’s critique of mercantile restrictions became a landmark challenge to the doctrine.
Atlantic slave trade: The forced transportation and sale of millions of Africans across the Atlantic from the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries. Colonial commodity systems tied to European commerce depended heavily on enslaved labor.
Balance of trade: The difference between the value of a country’s exports and imports over a period. Mercantilists sought export surpluses to draw wealth into the state.
Thomas Mun: An English merchant and writer who argued that foreign trade could increase England’s wealth. His writings defended export surpluses as a means of strengthening the kingdom.
The Wealth of Nations: Adam Smith’s 1776 book analyzing markets, production, trade, and political economy. Its critique of monopolies and trade restrictions directly contested mercantilist reasoning.
East India Company: An English joint-stock company that held a royal charter for trade with Asia and later governed parts of India. Its chartered monopoly joined commercial privilege with expanding state power.
Protectionism: Government policies that restrict imports or favor domestic producers over foreign competitors. Tariffs and import restrictions shielded domestic industries from foreign competition.
Edward Misselden: An English merchant and economic writer who discussed foreign trade and the balance of trade. His debates helped make trade balances central to English mercantilist arguments.

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