How did mercantilism impact England and England's colonies?
Then, how did England benefit from mercantilism?
The British had an empire to run. The way that they kept their economy healthy was through a system called mercantilism. This pushed the colonists to buy only British goods, instead of goods from other European countries. The distance from Britain and the size of the British Empire was an advantage for the colonies.
Keeping this in view, how did Britain benefit from its colonies?
Having colonies helped England in a few main ways: It gave them a safety valve for excess population. England could get raw materials from the colonies as well as things like rum that could be better prodcued in the colonies. They could sell finished goods to the colonists.
Mercantilism affected the European colonization of North America because European nations, including France, the Netherlands, Spain, and England, tried to claim as many natural resources as possible. In particular, the Spanish tried to accumulate as much gold as possible while enslaving the Native Americans they found.