Nine Rules of Mercantilism (For the Mother Country) 1

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Nine Rules of Mercantilism (for the mother country) 1. Inspect the earth/land carefully and use every material possible. 2. Manufacture raw materials in mother country and sell for high prices 3. Create a well-rounded, qualified, & productive workforce 4. Keep gold and silver in circulation within the mother country to avoid poverty 5. Limit trade with foreign countries & buy mostly from the mother country 6. If you must trade with foreign countries, don’t trade with gold or silver 7. Buy raw materials from foreign countries to manufacture within the mother country. Sell the manufactured goods for a high price 8. Sell manufactured goods for gold and silver 9. Buy domestic even if it’s more expensive than foreign goods. How does this relate to the key concepts? The mother countries controlled the colonial economies by regulating trade, in order to gain wealth which gave them power. Pros and Cons of Mercantilism Good for the mother country (MC)- The MC gets rich and has a great source of raw materials that they can buy for cheap. Also, the colonies provide them with a new market for them to sell their manufactured goods. It’s a win-win situation for the MC. Bad for the mother country (MC) - makes the colonies resent the mother country because they control the economy completely and get rich while the colonies do not. Eventually the colonists may get so angry that they may rebel. Good for the colonies-The colonies have a guaranteed market for their raw materials. This means that they can always sell to the mother country so they will always have someone with whom to trade. Bad for the colonies- While the mother country gets rich, the colonies do not. The colonists must sell their raw materials to the mother country for whatever price the MC decides (a cheap price) and they must buy manufactured goods from the MC (at a high price) .

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