Mercantilism: colonies supplying raw materials to the home country

Grade 7 Social Studies Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   The Navigation Acts (cards A to D; summaries in our words). Card A, the rules: acts of 1651 and 1660, tightened in 1663, 1673 and 1696, said that goods moving between England and its colonies had to travel on English ships with mostly English crews. Foreign ships could not carry goods from America, Asia or Africa to England or its colonies, and the colonies could not trade with other nations. The acts were repealed in 1849. Card B, the Molasses Act of 1733: it set a tax on molasses brought into the colonies from non-British colonies. After 1733 many colonial traders smuggled. Card C, a historians' summary: English shipowners and merchants gained protected business. Dutch shipping, which had carried much of Europe's trade, lost business. Colonial traders could buy and sell only inside the English system. Card D, a debate: historians disagree about how heavy the burden on the colonies was. Trade and population in the colonies grew quickly in the 1700s.

2. 1.

   The acts ran from 1651 to 1849 (card A), and the Molasses Act came in 1733 (card B). About what percent of the acts' years had passed by 1733, Luz asks?

   • About 59 percent, the share of the acts' years still to come after 1733
   • About 41 percent, since 82 of the 198 years had passed by 1733
   • About 82 percent, since 82 years had passed by 1733
   • About 4 percent, since 82 out of 198 years is about 0.04 of the total
3. 2.

   Using card C, which pair of groups shows who gained and who lost under the acts, Milo asks?

   • English shipowners gained protected business, while Dutch shipping lost business
   • Dutch shipping gained protected business, while English shipowners lost business
   • English merchants gained and the colonies gained equally, since both belonged to England
   • Colonial traders gained the right to trade with any nation, while English merchants lost
4. 3.

   Card B says many colonial traders smuggled after 1733. Which chain best explains why, Noah asks?

   • Traders smuggled because English ships refused to carry molasses to the colonies
   • The tax raised the cost of foreign molasses, so smuggling let traders avoid it
   • Smuggling came first, which then led Parliament to tax molasses from other colonies
   • Traders smuggled for fun, and the tax on molasses had no part in their choice
5. 4.

   A student writes, "The Navigation Acts ruined the colonies." Which card most directly challenges that, Pia asks?

   • Card C, which says the colonies lost out, so the acts must have ruined them completely
   • Card B, which says traders smuggled, so the acts must have ended trade in the colonies
   • Card D, where colonial trade and population grew quickly and the burden is debated
   • Card A, which lists the dates when the acts were passed and tightened over the years
6. 5.

   Card A summarizes laws passed by England's Parliament. What does that tell Ren about the source?

   • The acts show how each trader lived in the colonies, since laws record real behavior
   • The acts are worthless as evidence, since laws are written by one side
   • The acts show England's rules and aims, but not how traders lived with them
   • The acts are a modern summary of the colonies' trade, written by later historians
7. 6.

   Card B says many colonial traders smuggled after 1733. What does that show about using the acts as a record of colonial trade, Tala asks?

   • The acts were not enforced anywhere, so they had no effect on colonial trade
   • Traders obeyed the acts closely, since smuggling would have been pointless for them
   • Some traders worked around the rules, so the laws alone do not show how trade worked
   • The acts are worthless as evidence, since smuggling is a crime and crimes leave no record
8. 7.

   Card C says Dutch shipping carried much of Europe's trade. What was the likely aim of the rule that foreign ships could not carry goods to the colonies, Ari asks?

   • To let colonial traders pick any carrier, since the rule opened up the trade
   • To move carrying business from Dutch ships over to English ships and English crews
   • To move carrying business from English ships to Dutch ships, which were cheaper
   • To raise taxes on molasses, since the rule on carriers was a tax law
9. 8.

   Which statement best shows how a colonial trader may have seen the acts, Bo asks?

   • The rules let colonial traders sell to any nation, so they had no reason to complain
   • The rules limited whom he could buy from and sell to, so he may have smuggled
   • The rules helped colonial traders most, since English ships carried their goods
   • The rules mattered little, since colonial traders mostly farmed and did not trade
10. 9.

    Which new source would best test how heavy the burden on colonists was, Esme asks?

    • A map of the Atlantic that shows where English ships sailed in the year 1700 and later
    • A modern book that repeats card D's sentence about the debate in new words
    • A copy of the acts that lists the dates they were passed and tightened over many years
    • Colonial merchants' account books showing prices paid and received before and after
11. 10.

    Why would Parliament require English ships to have mostly English crews, Kira asks?

    • To help colonial farmers, who could then hire English sailors to farm for them
    • To build up English shipping and sailors, so the carrying trade earned money in England
    • To keep English sailors out of trade with the colonies, so foreign sailors could take over
    • To help historians count how many sailors served in the 1700s and 1800s