History The British Empire Questions
The major economic policies and practices in the colonies by the British Empire included mercantilism, the Navigation Acts, and the establishment of plantation economies. Mercantilism was the economic theory that focused on accumulating wealth through a favorable balance of trade, and the British Empire implemented this policy by exploiting the colonies for their resources and raw materials. The Navigation Acts were a series of laws that restricted colonial trade to benefit British merchants and ensure that colonial goods were transported on British ships. Additionally, the British Empire established plantation economies in colonies such as the West Indies, where cash crops like sugar, tobacco, and cotton were grown using slave labor and exported back to Britain.