Nation Building

Between 1400 and 1800 most of the states of Western Europe were heavily influenced by an “economic” policy known as mercantilism. No general definition of mercantilism is entirely satisfactory, but for the purposes of this paper it is thought of as a collection of policies designed to keep the state prosperous by economic regulation. Secondly, it was a series of economic controls intended to strengthen the military and colonies of a country, against other antagonistic empires. These …

…merchant’s trade activity to increase the monarchy’s treasury. These newly married concepts of politics and economics were designed to keep the state prosperous by economic regulation, and to provide a constant inflow of income for governmental control that was intended to strengthen the military and colonies of a country, against its enemies. These two principles of mercantilism were embedded together and allowed for the building of the common interests of the nation state.