My understanding, albeit imperfect, is that mercantilism, as a political/economic philosophy, was not limited to the French. I don't feel like looking it up, at this minute, as I have settled comfortably into my Scotch and soda, but I guess I could, if I had to. Let's see how good my memory is. We can start with France, I am sure I have this part right - France spent a lot of money on its colonies, the one I know the most about is Louisiana, which was economically desolate compared to the West Indies and the sugar and indigo plantations. Everyone, of course, envied the Spanish and their gold and silver mines. In an effort to recoup the losses sustained in Louisiana and other less successful plantations, the French government decreed that no goods could be imported into Lousiana without paying a hefty tariff to the French government, which tried to impose a monopoly, and sold the right to the monopoly to the highest bidder.
This was not different than the English policy, if you recall your grammar school history, the triangular trade in slaves, cloth and rum.
There was a young man at my law school who took a year off and went to France and finished his research on mercantilism in France, I recall that he said it was a common practice in maritime nations. |
