comparative political theory
concepts
foreign exports
global economic issues
history of poverty
international trade
Mercantilism most properly describes a set of commonly held political and economic ideas that were prevalent in Europe from the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries, a period when Europeans created powerful new nation-states, involved themselves in great exploratory voyages, and settled colonies in distant territories. Although the concept was not given definitive shape until Adam Smith published The Wealth of Nations in 1776, the theoretical foundations of mercantilism could already be found in the work of thinkers such as Thomas Mun of England, Jean-Baptiste Colbert of France, and Antonio Serra of Italy, all of whom came to prominence during the seventeenth century. [Source: Encyclopedia of U.S. Political History; Mercantilism]
mercantilism
political economy
political philosophy/theory
trade (economics)