How did the mercantilism contribute to the power rivalries among european nations

Well, mercantilism gave many positive effects. One is that it pushed people to find more land for more resources to trade, increasing wealth. Wealth enough is enough to put you ahead of your enemies, but it also let you have more land. Here is an example of how this gave certain nations an edge. 

England is far away from the East coast of North America. However, France tried to engage in warfare with them. They had territory in the middle of North America. Their mainland, in Europe, was however blocked by English colonies, giving England an edge because there was a direct route from the colonies to England.