In the mean time, one of the principal effects of those discoveries has been, to raise the mercantile system to a degree of splendour and glory which it could never otherwise have attained to. It is the object of that system to enrich a great nation, rather by trade and manufactures than by the improvement and cultivation of land, rather by the industry of the towns than by that of the country. . . .Two new worlds have been opened to their industry, each of them much greater and more extensive than the old one, and the market of one of them growing still greater and greater every day. –Adam Smith
An Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations

The state-assisted manufacturing and trade practiced by England in the sixteenth century was known as mercantilism. This economic system

resulted in a favorable balance of trade for England, with greater exports than imports.
failed in England, resulting in a loss of material wealth.
increased wealth levels throughout Europe due to England’s increasingly open trade.
was dependent on the use of slave labor for the production of goods to export.