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4 pages/β‰ˆ1100 words
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Chicago
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History
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English (U.S.)
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Assignment 3 Mercantilism Economy in Europe History Essay

Essay Instructions:

What is the mercantilist economic theory? Explain what mercantilists understood as wealth. What are the implications for this perception of wealth when it comes to things like trade, and the acquisition of goods for trade? From the Wilberforce article explain the economic justifications provided by the pro-slavery lobby for the continuation of the practice. Since sugar was the commodity produced by the Caribbean plantations and it was a commodity in great demand in Europe, could we argue that Caribbean slave plantation systems were promoted and protected by the European states partially as a result of mercantilist beliefs (you need to basically connect, sugar, mercantilism, slavery…)
To avoid having you drift off-topic, I have devised a series of questions that will hopefully make sure you are on track. If you have completed the essay you can use these as a check list.

1- What are the basic economic principles/features of Mercantilism? What did it recommend a government do? Use our lecture on mercantilism to answer this question and define mercantilism very clearly. Make sure that you highlight how mercantilist measured wealth.
You may also use the textbook (p. 458-459) but make sure you do not turn this into a discussion about the place of the colonies in the mercantilist system (that is a different issue outside of our scope.)
2- Once you have spelled out the basic economic features of mercantilism, consider the following questions: Where the sugar colonies profitable? Did they add to a nations wealth? You can use lecture and textbook as well as article to answer this and to find evidence and numbers.
3-If sugar is a valuable and sought after commodity, what happens if a nation does not produce its own, but has to import it?
4-Starting with the Portuguese and Spanish what model of sugar plantations had they established that had proven to be very profitable? In the planters’ minds were there alternatives different from slavery to get the labor force that plantations needed? Why did they consider African slaves the ideal work force for these plantations?

Make sure that your thesis statement clearly makes an argument for a connection between mercantilism, sugar and the acceptance of slavery as, at the very least, a necessity.

As always be sure to cite and quote, and for the love of all that you hold dear, do not try to submit unoriginal work, you will most likely be caught and accordingly sanctioned!


Instructions:
Your essay should be no longer than 4 pages. Use 12 point script and please double space. Please utilize normal pre-set (1 inch) margins.
When citing the material, especially when using direct quotes, please use footnote citations. (In Word go to References and Footnote and then type your source information.) A works cited page is not a substitute for footnotes. If you need guidance or help with this please do not hesitate to come visit with me or the TA’s.
Use Chicago Manual of Style for referencing. You can find brief guides readily available online.
Please use your textbook, your notes and the Wilberforce article for this essay. Do not use outside sources.
Be sure to edit your work for spelling and grammar mistakes as well as organization and clarity.
File naming procedure are identical to last assignment: Last name – First Name – Assignment II – WOH 2001
Send me or your TAs any questions you might have and we will do our best to answer them. I have given you two week to complete this assignment, please do a good job of it.
The following content is partner provided
Paragraphs are the building blocks of an essay. Each paragraph should contain a single general idea or topic, along with accompanying explanations and evidence relevant to it. Each paragraph, moreover, has a topic sentence (usually the first sentence) that tells the reader what the paragraph is about.
Do not write one-, two-, or three-sentence paragraphs. Paragraphs have topics, introductory sentences, evidence, and conclusions.

Essay Sample Content Preview:

Assignment 3
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Mercantilism Economy in Europe
What is the mercantilist economic theory?
Mercantilism was an economic model that dominated many European nations between the 16th- 18th century. It was structured to increase the wealth of a country, and thus the economy was heavily regulated by the government to ensure the accumulation of bullion. Bullion is the favorable balance of trade which was achieved by promoting exports and imposing heavy and punitive tariffs on imports and was measured in gold and silver. Mercantilism also supported the establishment of local manufacturers and the development of agriculture to reduce imports and the establishment of foreign trading private enterprises. The economic model was constructed on the idea that wealth was static and thus each country raced to amass it as much gold and silver within its borders as it could. The mercantile system was doomed to fail as it had many inherent problems in its approach to wealth creation and foreign policies and it was eventually replaced by the laissez-faire economic model. It was impractical for all countries to achieve a positive balance of trade. This economic system influenced the modern-day political system especially the international boundaries and the ethnic, cultural and racial composition of many countries around the world. Since the mercantile economic system was run by private enterprises, and the government was the policymaker, they developed a symbiotic relationship pegged on business interests. The private enterprises got state protection since at the time European nations at the time were constantly warring and the private enterprises paid taxes that supported armies of the nation state.
Explain what mercantilists understood as wealth.
First mercantilists thought of wealth as bullion. Bullion was the state's accumulation of gold and silver. Bullion came from foreign trade. The more bullion a country had, the more it was wealthy and vice versa. It was a notion that was shared across European nation-states and the economic model was primarily designed to increase bullion. The tariffs were imposed on imports to discourage an economic model that led to an outflow of bullion and thus reduce the nation-state’s wealth.
Secondly, mercantilists strongly linked wealth to power. The more wealth a nation-state had, the more power it had, and thus it could easily win wars. At the time, the nation states were belligerent and each needed to be powerful enough to protect its’ sovereignty and territory. The rationale of associating wealth and the nation’s power especially militarily was because wars were expensive and the government needed resources to support its armies, and the means of payment was bullion. Thus, if a country had less bullion, it could not fund wars and or protect its territory thus it could lose its independence and sovereignty. On the other hand, it the enemy had more bullion and could fund his/her wars, it meant the outcomes of the war were stacked in its favor.
Lastly, mercantilists thought that wealth was static. They thought that the amount of wealth in the world was fixed and therefore they must accumulate as much of it as possible. This was the underpinning ideologie...
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