Mercantilism

Mercantilism was a form of economic thought that originated in Europe in the 16th century that was based on the belief that there was a finite amount of silver and gold in the world and that each country should work to maximize its share of the available precious metals. Since gold and silver were in limited supply, the countries that amassed the most wealth did so at the expense of other states. While the respective countries differed in how they implemented mercantilist policies, they were all seeking to create trade surpluses by limiting the amount of foreign goods they imported, which would have required them to give gold or silver to another country, while at the same time endeavoring to export their surplus products to ...