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 The acts were repealed in 1849.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 82 percent, since 82 years had passed by 1733
   • 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 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?

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

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

   • 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 because English ships refused to carry molasses to the 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 A, which lists the dates when the acts were passed and tightened over the years
   • Card D, where colonial trade and population grew quickly and the burden is debated
   • 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
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 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
   • The acts are worthless as evidence, since laws are written by one side
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?

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

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

   • 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
   • The rules let colonial traders sell to any nation, so they had no reason to complain
9. 8.

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

   • Colonial merchants' account books showing prices paid and received before and after
   • A modern book that repeats card D's sentence about the debate in new words
   • A map of the Atlantic that shows where English ships sailed in the year 1700 and later
   • A copy of the acts that lists the dates they were passed and tightened over many years
10. 9.

    Card A says the acts were passed in 1651 and 1660 and tightened up to 1696. What does that suggest about the policy, Jun asks?

    • The acts were tightened for 198 years, so each year brought a new rule
    • England added rules over about 45 years and then kept the system until 1849
    • England wrote the rules once in 1651, and they stayed the same until 1849
    • England removed rules over about 45 years and then ended the system in 1696 for good
11. 10.

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

    • To keep English sailors out of trade with the colonies, so foreign sailors could take over
    • 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 help historians count how many sailors served in the 1700s and 1800s