How did mercantilism effect the English colonies?

Mercantilism had a significant impact on the English colonies. Under mercantilism, it was believed that a nation’s wealth and power could be increased through a trade surplus with other countries. This led England to create a system of mercantilist policies to ensure that the goods and services it received from the colonies exceeded those it shipped out to them. As a result, the colonies had to pay higher taxes on imported goods, adhere to strict regulations on their trade, engage in limited foreign trade, and refrain from manufacturing goods that competed with English manufacturing. The English also assisted the development of export-oriented industries in the colonies, such as shipbuilding, fishing, fur trading, lumbering, and agriculture. These mercantilist policies provided England with a reliable source of revenue and contributed to the growth and industrialization of the American colonies.