The mercantile system, also known as Mercantilism, is an economic policy that is designed to maximize the exports and minimize the imports for an economy. It promotes governmental regulation of a nation's economy to augment state power at the expense of rival national powers.
Mercantilism is an economic theory and practice dominant in Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries that promoted governmental regulation of a nation's economy for the purpose of augmenting state power at the expense of rival national powers. It advocates that a nation should export more than it imports to accumulate wealth, primarily in the form of precious metals like gold and silver. Under mercantilism, trade surpluses were viewed as critical for increasing the nation's reserves.
