Mercantilism Mercantilism was a method of trade used by 16th, 17th, and 18th century Monarchies to increase exports and the amount of imports of precious metals coming in. In a country under mercantilist persuasion, a country would do all it could to bring in money. Treaties were made with countries so that one trading country would have exclusive trading privileges in another country. A country would control the production of items, (how much and how …showed first 75 words of 625 total…

…showed last 75 words of 625 total…inflation. Inflation caused the price of everything from food, to beverages, housing, and raw materials to go up. The towns could no longer support such huge industries and the exporting, and therefore the system went belly up. The idea behind Mercantilism was to control the production of goods by the government so long as it benefits the people. Did it benefit the people? For a while yes, but ultimately drove the people into the ground.