Only Britain has a collective name for them; it's called the "Commonwealth".
Mercantilism
norway
Libya
Portugal
Portugal
Mercantile system. The concept is that by keeping the resources of colonies for itself, the home country can become wealthier and more powerful.
Portugal
Colonies were important in the mercantile economic systems because they were markets in which to buy products from the home country.
Colony
do your own home work
No, the word colonies is an abstract noun, a plural, common noun; a word for a place fully or partially controlled by a government of another place or a community of people settled in a new place but retaining ties to their original home or country. There is nothing physical about the place or the people that indicates they are a colony, it is a thing to know about the place or the people.
The Navigation Acts were imposed on the American colonies by England in order to restrict trade with every country except England. It affected them negatively because they were no longer allowed to trade with anyone except their home country, and therefore their goods and supplies were being controlled. Trade was kept inside the British Empire, and for the most part, the colonists obeyed the acts. However it was one of the things that sparked tension between the colonies and England.