Changes

== Economic System ==

== Economic System ==

Ultimately, and this is the most difficult for students to understand, it is money ([[economics]]) that shapes much of history.  If the colonies were profitable for their mother countries in Europe, then the mother countries would continue to support and defend the colonies.  But if the colonies were a money-loser, as in costing more to defend then they make, then they are going to be abandoned or at least no longer protected by the European mother country.

This can be difficult for students to understand: it is money ([[economics]]) that shapes much of history.  If the colonies were profitable for their mother countries in Europe, then the mother countries would continue to support and defend the colonies.  But if the colonies were a money-loser, as in costing more to defend then they make, then they are going to be abandoned or at least no longer protected by the European mother country.

Many of the colonies did make this work, and work well.  An [[economic]] system called '''[[mercantilism]]''' began to develop in the 1600s and 1700s, which would lay the foundation for capitalism in the 1800s.<ref>http://mars.wnec.edu/~grempel/courses/wc2/lectures/mercantilism.html</ref>

Some of the colonies were profitable.  An [[economic]] system called '''[[mercantilism]]''' began to develop in the 1600s and 1700s, which would lay the foundation for capitalism in the 1800s.<ref>http://mars.wnec.edu/~grempel/courses/wc2/lectures/mercantilism.html</ref>

The basic concept of mercantilism is to limit imports from foreign countries (not including colonies), and maximize exports to everyone (including other colonies), in order to maximize the "trade surplus" (the amount by which receipts exceeds expenses).  Colonies played an important role in this system by supplying raw materials at low cost to the mother country (e.g., England or France), which could then use the materials to produce low-cost finished products that could be sold to the world.<ref>http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/Mercantilism.html</ref>  By selling more than the country buys, it could accumulate a surplus in money (gold) and become wealthier.  In other words, mercantilism was an economic system in which the colonies existed to give raw materials to mother country (England), and buy her finished products, so that England could export more than it imported and thereby increase its gold reserves from a surplus in the balance of trade.

The basic concept of mercantilism is to limit imports from foreign countries (not including colonies), and maximize exports to everyone (including other colonies), in order to maximize the "trade surplus" (the amount by which receipts exceeds expenses).  Colonies played an important role in this system by supplying raw materials (such as crops) at low cost to the mother country (e.g., England or France), which would then use the materials to produce food or other finished goods to sell to the world.<ref>http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/Mercantilism.html</ref>  By selling more than the country buys, it could accumulate a surplus in money (gold) and become wealthier.  In other words, mercantilism was an economic system in which the colonies existed to give raw materials to mother country (England), and buy her finished products, so that England could export more than it imported and thereby increase its gold reserves from a surplus in the balance of trade.

But there's no free lunch, and these European nations were all-too-happy to use slavery to do the back-breaking work of gathering the raw materials, such as crops and minerals.  A slave trade developed to bring blacks from Africa to the New World in order to work the plantations for the settlers from [[England]] and other European powers.

But there's no free lunch, and these European nations were all-too-happy to use slavery to do the back-breaking work of gathering the raw materials, such as crops and minerals.  A slave trade developed to bring blacks from Africa to the New World in order to work the plantations for the settlers from [[England]] and other European powers.