Mercantilism is best described as which idea?

• A. Mother country exploits colonies; navigation acts; Boston Tea Party.
• B. Free trade among colonies.
• C. Self-government and independence.
• D. Local manufacture of all goods.

Answer: (A)

Mercantilism is an economic system in which a powerful nation seeks to increase its wealth and power by controlling trade and the resources of its colonies. The mother country benefits by exporting more than it imports, accumulating wealth, and keeping colonies as sources of raw materials and markets for finished goods. The idea described here points to that dynamic: the mother country exploiting colonies, the use of trade-control policies like the Navigation Acts to regulate how trade flows, and colonial resistance such as the Boston Tea Party as a reaction to these policies.

Other options don’t fit as well because they describe ideas that Mercantilism isn’t about: free trade among colonies goes against the controlled, protective approach of mercantilist policy; self-government and independence focuses on political status rather than economic policy; and local manufacture of all goods ignores the imperial aim of controlling trade with the mother country and managing wealth through regulation and colonial exploitation.