Mercantilism: colonies supplying raw materials to the home country

Grade 7 Social Studies Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   The idea and its critics (cards A to D; summaries in our words). Card A, the mercantilist idea, 1500s to 1700s: rulers wanted their country to sell more than it bought. They measured wealth by gold and silver. Colonies supplied raw materials and bought manufactured goods from the home country, and tariffs, which are taxes on imports, kept out goods from rivals. Card B, France: Jean-Baptiste Colbert, finance minister of Louis XIV from 1665 to 1683, revised tariffs and supported French factories. Card C, a critic: Adam Smith's book The Wealth of Nations (1776) called the policy the "mercantile system". Smith argued that a country's wealth lies in its goods, land and labor, not in the gold and silver it holds, and that trade restrictions raised prices for buyers. The name for the system was given by critics such as Smith and the French writer Mirabeau. Card D, a modern debate: economists debate how large the effects were. Some say the policies helped a country build factories and ships; others say they raised prices and slowed trade.

2. 1.

   How might Colbert and Smith each have seen tariffs, Ren asks?

   • Colbert said tariffs raised prices for buyers, while Smith used them to protect factories
   • Colbert thought tariffs were useless, while Smith thought tariffs were the key to wealth
   • Both would have seen tariffs the same way, since both lived in the 1700s
   • Colbert used tariffs to protect French factories, while Smith said they raised prices
3. 2.

   How should Tala use card C as evidence about mercantilism?

   • As a modern textbook summary, written by economists today to explain Smith's era
   • As a neutral summary of mercantilism, since Smith described the policy and its effects
   • As worthless, since a critic wrote it and critics cannot report the policy fairly
   • As a critic's view, written to argue against the policy, to set beside other views
4. 3.

   Card A says mercantilists measured wealth by gold and silver. Which part of card C challenges that measure, Ari asks?

   • The point that Smith called the policy the mercantile system, which is a name
   • The point that critics such as Mirabeau agreed with Smith about restrictions, so wealth is gold
   • Smith's argument that wealth lies in goods, land and labor, not in the gold and silver held
   • The point that Smith's book appeared in 1776, long after the policy began
5. 4.

   Colbert served 18 years (1665 to 1683, card B). Card A covers the 1500s to the 1700s, about 300 years. About what percent of that period was Colbert's time in office, Bo asks?

   • About 60 percent, since 18 out of about 300 years is 60 percent
   • About 6 percent, since 18 out of about 300 years is 6 percent
   • About 18 percent, since Colbert served 18 years
   • About 0.6 percent, since 18 out of about 300 years is 0.6 percent
6. 5.

   Card A covers the 1500s to the 1700s, and card C is from 1776. Which statement about change over time fits, Esme asks?

   • Smith's book ended the policy in 1776, and no state used tariffs after that date
   • Smith wrote in 1776 to end a policy that had already been dropped in the 1500s
   • Supporters such as Colbert named the policy first, and critics adopted the name later
   • Smith's critique came late in the period, and critics gave the policy its name
7. 6.

   Why might a finance minister like Colbert favor tariffs, Kira asks?

   • Tariffs hurt French factories by blocking supplies, so the king could close them
   • Tariffs made foreign goods cheaper, so the king could buy more luxuries abroad
   • Tariffs would answer Smith in 1776, so Colbert put them in place in 1665
   • Tariffs shielded French factories from rivals' goods and could raise money
8. 7.

   Card D says economists debate how large the effects were. Which statement is most careful, Luz asks?

   • The policies had some benefits and some costs, and economists debate their size
   • The policies hurt buyers and sellers alike, since Smith's book showed that restrictions raised prices
   • The policies had no effect whatever, since economists cannot agree on their size
   • The policies built factories and ships, so the debate is just about small details
9. 8.

   Which source would best test whether tariffs raised prices for buyers, as Smith argued, Milo asks?

   • A list of the ships that carried raw materials from colonies to France
   • A modern essay that repeats Smith's claim in simpler words for students
   • The newest essay on Colbert, because it uses the latest ideas about France
   • Price lists for the same goods in one town before and after a tariff
10. 9.

    Card A says colonies supplied raw materials and bought manufactured goods from the home country. How might a colonial farmer see that, Noah asks?

    • As limits on where to sell raw materials and where to buy goods
    • As a reason to move to the home country, since farming paid better there
    • As a clear gain, since the home country set fair prices for the colonies
    • As a source of gold and silver, since colonies mined their own treasure
11. 10.

    Colbert took office in 1665 and Smith's book appeared in 1776 (cards B and C). Colbert served 18 of those 111 years. About what percent of those years is that, Pia asks?

    • About 1.6 percent, since 18 out of 111 years is about 0.016
    • About 93 percent, since 111 minus 18 is 93
    • About 160 percent, since 18 out of 111 years is about 1.6
    • About 16 percent, since 18 out of 111 years is about 0.16