Spain Mercantilist Policies Were the Ruling Economic Term Paper

Spain

Mercantilist policies were the ruling economic trend in most European nations including Spain. This type of economy happens when a country exports more good than import goods to provide a prosperous economic standard of living to its citizens, high tax revenues and more funds to finance wars and armaments. Because of this, countries raced to find colonies and to make use of these countries resources and raw materials for the benefit of the motherland (Patria). Spain was one of the leading European countries that discovered most of Asian lands and Latin America, establishing colonies and making them profitable for Spain.

Get full access
for only $8.97. However, Spain experienced economic decline during the 16th century due to a lot of factors that included loss of the middle class, emerging number of privileged people who did not want to work, emigration that showed decline in the population and left no manpower in most of Spain's agricultural lands making them dependent on imported foodstuffs, exaggerated taxation and inflation, corruption in their government and the plagues that disturbed Europe. Political unrest also stemmed up from Spain's loss in the Thirty-Years War, religion overshadowing politics, and the Treaty of Pyranees that ended the reign of Spain as a great power. To add, that the biggest expenditure of Spain, which refers to maintenance of troops and maintenance of forces in different European countries, was also one of the major reasons why Spain acquired a lot of debts and inability to pay them.

Term Paper on Spain Mercantilist Policies Were the Ruling Economic Assignment

Because of the decline in the condition of the motherland, the Bourbon kings of the 18th Century Spain made economic and political changes, not only in Spain, but also in their colonies as well. These Bourbon reforms started with Philip V, the first Bourbon king of Spain and reached its peak with Charles III. The band-aid solution of the Bourbon reforms aimed to address economic problems… [END OF PREVIEW] . . . READ MORE