Which economic theory motivated the English to colonize the Americas in search of natural resources?

Mercantilism

Explanation:

It was an economic doctrine that emerged during the sixteenth century. Mercantilism was the dominant economic doctrine during the colonization of North America by England. Mercantilism maximizes the export of raw materials, and it implies the strengthening of national policy. Mercantilism was present even after the colonization of the New World. The English tried in various ways to place products on the soil of North America and enforce certain laws on the soil of the American colonies, all for economic gain. There have been many such examples throughout colonial history, and one of those laws is the Stamps Act. Mercantilism can be presented as the embryo of capitalist doctrine.

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