Economic Practice.

Nations established colonies as outposts to promote their interests in their expanding empires. Rather than actual gold and silver, the British sought natural resources for their factories. They also wanted to develop markets to purchase their manufactured goods, goods they could tax to increase revenue. By controlling trade with colonies the parent nations wanted to establish a balance of trade that would bring national benefits to the government. Initially this economic strategy proved beneficial for both England and her colonies. The demand for labor to process the abundant natural resources of North America provided opportunities for English workers who could not find employment in England. The efficient efforts of immigrant labor provided the raw materials England needed to avoid reliance on other nations. The growing population in the British colonies increased the flow of consumer goods from England to the colonies, which in...