HIS271Y1 Lecture : Recreating the Old in the New World
Document Summary
collision of two old world cultures, creating a new world. mercantilism: rooted in the idea that there was a fixed amount of wealth in the world, measured in terms of gold and silver. I t also held that one nation could only profit at the expense of the other. To achieve economic success, you had to sell as much as you could while limiting the amount that you bought. within this context, owning a colony made sense (you had a new source of resources and eventually a new market to sell them in) This idea dominated thinking among colonial empires, prompting european nations to follow in the footsteps of spain to find a westward passage (either by water, or now by land across north america) In 16th century, england and france financed explorers to find a passage. many of these early endeavours weren"t about creating colonies, but outposts for trade.
