Why did the philosophy of mercantilism promote colonies and Western Imperialism?

Question

Why did the philosophy of mercantilism promote colonies and Western Imperialism?

Answer 1

Mercantilism was the idea that colonies should provide raw materials to the mother country, and purchase the mother country's manufactured goods.  (The colonies were not allowed to trade with anyone else.)

Mercantilism thus promoted the founding of colonies and imperialism because by this means, colonies would be a source of wealth to the mother country.  The more colonies you got, the more money your country made.

Answer 2

The theory of mercantilism is the exchange of bullion (gold and other precious metals) of the home country with its dependencies. Mercantilism can exist in a market economy, command economy or a mixed economy. Colonies were needed to supply the voracious demand for bullion. According to Immanuel Wallenstein, an 'autarchy' or a political entity exists in a bimodal construction. At the center interstices lays the ruling entity or homeland. The semi-peripheral ring consists of the subjugated lands that have been implemented into the 'greater empire' through the use of polity, isopolity or sympolity. The peripheral ring consists of the lands that act as the buffer states and the 'cleruchies' or colonies that are not yet fully implemented into the homeland. This conglomeration of hegemonies and suzerainties pay homage to the homeland through the theory of mercantilism. As according to Hugo Grotius, all depended on the geostrategic position. For the ability to agglutinate numerous colonies, the ruling 'autarchy' was a thalassocracy so as to spread its imperium through the oecumene.

Examples include the Swedish Empire: 1611-1721 CE of Gustavus II Adolphus with it reaching its final expansion and ultimate abjuration under the porphyrogene of Charles XII. Swedish Pomerania, Schelswig-Holstein and other coastal suzerainties on the Baltic Sea provided maritime supremacy for the exchanging of goods. Other examples consist of the First Athenian Empire: 478-404 BCE and the Second Athenian Empire: 378/377-355 BCE where 'cleruchies' were implanted within Lydia, Lycia, Ionia, Caria, Mysia, Hellespontine Phrygia, Eteokarpathioi of the Dodecanese, Megara, Amphipolis, Olynthus, Pottidae, Zacynthus, Cephallenia and Corcyra. Imperial hubris constituted the promotion of colonies which supported the theory of mercantilism.

Answer 3

Mercantilists thought that wealth comes from owning precious metals.  They also knew that the world is a globe, so the supply of precious metals is finite.  So if a country wanted to have the largest supply of precious metals available to it, it would have to annex the territories where precious metals could be found...