1. © Mark Batik Jesuit College Prep
British Mercantilism
© Mark Batik
Jesuit College Prep

2. Term Coined by Adam Smith Famous Guy, Wealth of Nations
What’s Mercantilism
Term Coined by Adam Smith
Famous Guy, Wealth of Nations
What was its purpose?
How was that created?

3. Mercantilism’s Acts
1621-Virginia tobacco can be sold only in England. English tobacco crop prohibited
Navigation Acts forbid import of all goods except in English ships or ships owned by producing country; foreign ships barred from the colonies

4. Mercantilism’s Acts
1660-Provides for no goods in and out of colonies except in British ships or ships with 1/4 British crews; Certain goods (indigo, sugar, tobacco) may be shipped only to England
1662-Goods may be imported in English-built ships only
1663-Staples Act: European goods bound for the colonies must go in English-built ships from England. Colonial governors may grant authority to naval officers

5. Mercantilism’s Acts
1673-Duties are to be assessed at port of clearance to prevent plantation owners from evading laws; also, inter-colonial duties imposed on tobacco, sugar, etc
1675-Charles II designates certain Privy Councilors as "Lords of Trade and Plantations"

6. Mercantilism’s Acts
1696-Act confines all colonial trade to English-built ships; toughens enforcement procedures to collect duties; voids colonial laws passed in opposition to the Navigation Acts; creates the  Board of Commissioners for Trade and Plantations
1698-Wool Act. Prohibits export of colonial woolen cloth—raw wool only

7. Mercantilism’s Acts 1732-Hat Act—no hats exported from colonies
1733-Molasses Act imposes duty on rum; virtually unenforceable in the colonies because of smuggling
1750-Iron Acts ban iron finishing in colonies; ensures sufficient pig-iron supply to England

8. Colonial Response
The colonists had no objection to the Navigation Acts in theory
Directed against Britain’s competitors
Seen as regulation not taxation
Colonists went out of their way to avoid the consequences of them
refusing to pay duties
Smuggling: Hancock “King of Smugglers”
Colonial governors could enforce these acts only with difficulty
Expensive
Impractical

9. Benefits to the Colonists
New England shipping
South Carolina indigo subsidy
North Carolina bounties on tar, pitch, turpentine, and lumber
Virginia tobacco planters guaranteed a monopoly of the British market
Exporters: competing goods from foreign nations were subject to tariffs while theirs were not
Colonists were not compelled to tax themselves to support a professional army and navy  for protection

10. Burdens on the Colonies
Manufactured goods were more expensive because they had to come from Britain or be shipped through Britain
Southern planters bore most of the burden because most of their crops were exported