Trans-Atlantic Trade

The role of trans-Atlantic trade and Great Britain’s mercantilist policies in the economic development of the British North American colonies in the period from 1650 to 1750 was to create the colonies into self-sufficient areas of living. Triangular trade within the United States, Great Britain, the West Indies, and Africa helped to distribute and/or import and export essential factors. The theory of mercantilism is “that a state should be as economically self-sufficient as possible” and it stipulates that in order to build economic strength, a nation must export more than it imports. The mercantilist policies of Great Britain were rules and regulations that every country and colony participating in the trans-Atlantic trade had to abide by. These rules helped build a firm ground for those countries and colonies, like the British North American colonies that were trying to become financially dependent on themselves.
Triangular trade directly benefited every area involved. One example would be that the United States exported rum to Africa; Africa would export slaves to the West Indies; the West Indies would export sugar and molasses to the United States and the cycle would start all over. With using this system, no two areas are fighting to be the leader of exporting a certain item. Every area had their “element”, which they would trade off in order to receive something that they themselves don’t supply. The British North American colonies benefited through triangular trade production because it opened up more and more occupations as the demand for their supply of trade grew. And to tie in with that, the more they produced, the more material was being brought in to the colonies. This trade grew because no area could gain more power over the other; they needed an equal amount each other which meant the economic standout of all the areas stayed relatively the same and grew at a constant rate. That aspect helped the British North American colonies to not be the