History · Europe in Transition: From Feudalism to Industrialization
Chapter 11 : Ideas and Practice of Mercantilism
Table of contents36 sections
- 1.Ideas and Practice of Mercantilism
- 2.Introduction and Definitions
- 3.Historiographical Debates and Definitions of Mercantilism
- 4.Classical vs. German Historical Economists
- 5.Key Terms
- 6.📌 Exam Tidbits
- 7.Origins
- 8.Key Terms
- 9.📌 Exam Tidbits
- 10.The Chief Ideas of Mercantilism
- 11.1. Étatism (State Power and Wealth)
- 12.2. Bullionism
- 13.3. Balance of Trade
- 14.4. Emphasis on Mines, Manufacturing, and Industry
- 15.5. Role of Colonies and Sea Power
- 16.National Variations of Mercantilism
- 17.Key Terms
- 18.📌 Exam Tidbits
- 19.Mercantilism in the European States
- 20.Italian States
- 21.Portugal
- 22.Spain
- 23.English Mercantilism
- 24.Mercantilism in France
- 25.Mercantilism in the Netherlands
- 26.Mercantilism in Prussia and Austria
- 27.Sweden
- 28.Key Terms
- 29.📌 Exam Tidbits
- 30.Rejection of Mercantilism
- 31.Early Critics (17th - Early 18th Century)
- 32.The Physiocrats (France)
- 33.Laissez-Faire and Adam Smith (England)
- 34.Key Terms
- 35.📌 Exam Tidbits
- 36.Quick-Recall Box
Chapter preview
Ideas and Practice of Mercantilism
Introduction and Definitions
The late-fifteenth century witnessed the discovery of new trade routes, trans-oceanic empires, and an influx of gold and silver from the New World, alongside luxury products from the East. This transformed Western European society and influenced state policies in emerging powers like Britain, France, and the Netherlands. The merger of economic thought and state policies focusing on the economic strength of the state came to be known as mercantilism.
Historiographical Debates and Definitions of Mercantilism
Because European states did not adopt identical policies, defining mercantilism is highly debated.
| Scholar / Source | Definition / Viewpoint on Mercantilism |
|---|---|
| T.W. Hutchinson | Suggested historians drop the word entirely; described it as "one of the vaguest and most irritating 'isms' in the language". |
| Henri Chambre | Stated that "there are as many mercantilisms as there are mercantilists". |
| Oxford English Dictionary | A system of economic doctrine and legislative policy based on the principle that money alone is wealth. (Note: The source deems this inadequate in a historical context). |
| UNESCO's Dictionary of Social Sciences | The belief that the economic welfare of the state can only be secured by government regulation of a nationalist character. |
| Karl Marx | Viewed it as the ideology of monopoly trading companies. |
| Maurice Dobb | Described it as a system of state-regulated exploitation through trade; essentially an economic policy of an age of primitive accumulation. |
| Cole and Clough | The name given to ideas and practices (1500 to 1800) by which the nation-state, acting in the economic sphere, sought by methods of control to secure its own unity and power. (Note: The source deems this the most appropriate definition). |
Classical vs. German Historical Economists
There are two primary interpretations of the "mercantilist system":
Key Terms
| Concept | Definition |
|---|---|
| Mercantilism | The policies and measures which European states adopted between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries to acquire wealth and power through state-regulated economic nationalism. |
📌 Exam Tidbits
- Adam Smith coined the term "mercantilism" in 1776.
- T.W. Hutchinson called it the "vaguest and most irritating 'isms'".
- Marxist historians ( Marx, Dobb ) view it through the lens of monopoly…
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