The key idea behind the concept of mercantilism is that counties

Mercantilism was an economic system of trade that spanned from the 16th century to the 18th century. Mercantilism was based on the idea that a nation's wealth and power were best served by increasing exports and so involved increasing trade. Mercantilism is an economic practice by which governments used their economies to augment state power at the expense of other countries. Governments sought to ensure that exports exceeded imports and to accumulate wealth in the form of bullion (mostly gold and silver). The main idea behind the theory of mercantilism was that a country should accumulate wealth by exploiting the domestic and foreign markets. Explanation: Mercantilism was a set of practices applied by European nations in different ways, but with the aim of accumulating wealth.

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the octopus by frank norris