What is mercantisim?

Answer 1

An economic system that stresses the goals of national government instead of the individual. It developed in Europe during the decline of feudal system. It was the most important economic system in the 16th-18th centuries.

Mercantilism required the national government to control business and trade: e.g. exporting should be more than importing. It aimed to exploit Natural Resources so that it could limit the import. Trade barriers, such as taxes were dropped. According to the Marcantilists, a nation's wealth was depended on its balance of trade.