During the 17th and 18th centuries (the 1600’s and 1700’s), Europeans believed in the idea that a nation’s power depended on their wealth. To gain wealth, countries established colonies which provided a constant source of raw materials and would also be a market for the manufactured goods produced in the Mother Country, or the country that controlled them. For example, the colonists cut down trees (raw materials) and the trees were sent to England where craftsmen made furniture, paper, barrels, and tools (manufactured goods). These goods were then sent back to the colonies and sold to the colonists while the money went back to England. This concept, where colonies existed to benefit their Mother Country economically, is known as mercantilism. This process also helped England establish a favorable balance of trade, where a country exports (goods sold to other countries) more than it imports (goods brought in/bought from other countries). To enforce mercantilism, England passed a series of Navigation Acts, starting in 1651. The Navigation Acts included the following…
Colonists were to export raw materials such as tobacco, rice, indigo, and sugar ONLY to England or other English colonies.
All goods coming to the colonies from other countries had to pass through England. There, they would be taxed and then sent to the colonies.
ONLY English ships were to be used for ALL trade.

At first, the colonists welcomed the trade laws. They made sure that the colonists had a place to sell their raw materials. Later, the colonists felt the laws limited their rights; they wanted to make their own products to sell and sell to countries other than England.
Highlight or underline in the text why European countries created colonies.

Define Mother Country.

Define export.

Define import.

Define mercantilism.


Highlight or underline in the text the purpose of the Navigation Acts.

If a colonist bought cloth from France, what happened to it under the Navigation Acts?



Answer the following questions based on the political cartoon and the reading on the front.

Who symbolizes the Mother County?

Who symbolizes the colonies?

What were three benefits colonies brought to their Mother Countries in Europe?

What does a Mother Country do with the raw materials they get from their colonies?

What does the cartoon say about how European countries viewed their colonies?