--- title: "Silver, Sugar and the First World Economy" description: "By 1700 a market in one continent set prices in another, and states ran trade policy to keep bullion at home. Mercantilism is the name for that policy and for the wars it produced." canonical: https://lightmysky.com/learn/history/silver-sugar-and-the-first-world-economy-mt_uFhCt_GXgN source: https://lightmysky.com/learn/history/silver-sugar-and-the-first-world-economy-mt_uFhCt_GXgN.md retrieved: 2026-09-12 --- > **Agent view.** This is the Markdown twin of the page, for tools and assistants. > When to use this site, and the call that answers each job: https://lightmysky.com/agent-instructions.md > API description (OpenAPI 3.1): https://lightmysky.com/openapi.json · Authentication: https://lightmysky.com/auth.md > Pricing: https://lightmysky.com/pricing.md · Catalog: https://lightmysky.com/llms.txt · Full catalog: https://lightmysky.com/llms-full.txt > Every machine-readable file on this domain: https://lightmysky.com/.well-known/ai-catalog.json > Ask for Markdown with `Accept: text/markdown`, a `.md` address, or `?mode=agent`. # Silver, Sugar and the First World Economy By 1700 a market in one continent set prices in another, and states ran trade policy to keep bullion at home. Mercantilism is the name for that policy and for the wars it produced. Subject: History · Area: World History · Ages 16 to 18 Page: https://lightmysky.com/learn/history/silver-sugar-and-the-first-world-economy-mt_uFhCt_GXgN ## Ready when they can - State what mercantilist policy tried to achieve and name two instruments it used - Trace one commodity, silver or sugar, from where it was produced to where it was consumed and say who took the profit at each stage - Explain why a chartered company could act like a state, with its own soldiers and treaties ## Lesson: When kings thought trade was war Mercantilism was the playbook of kings around 1700. Its goal was to pile up gold and silver at home by selling more abroad than was bought. The tools were tariffs on foreign goods, monopolies for favoured firms, and laws forcing colonies to trade only with the mother country. Modern thinking instead treats trade as mutual gain, not a contest for metal. **Example.** Trace silver from mine to market. Forced labour dug it in American mines, it crossed to Europe, then flowed on to Asia to pay for spices, silk, and porcelain. At each stop someone skimmed profit: mine owners, merchants, shippers, and tax hungry kings. **Example.** Trace sugar from field to table. Enslaved workers grew it on American plantations, ships carried it to Europe, and refiners sweetened tables at home. Shippers, refiners, and the state each took their cut before the cup was filled. Chartered companies could act like states. A royal charter gave a firm like the East India Company a monopoly over trade in a region, plus rights to raise soldiers, build forts, and sign treaties. When trade needed guns far from home, the flag was lent to private profit. **Recap.** Around 1700 states chased bullion, and silver, sugar, and armed monopolies tied the world together. ## Practice 8 questions on this page, each with its working shown. ## Needs first - [Comparative Advantage and the Gains from Trade](https://lightmysky.com/learn/civics-and-economics/comparative-advantage-and-the-gains-from-trade-mt_gcGxu7E2Y8) - [The Columbian Exchange](https://lightmysky.com/learn/history/the-columbian-exchange-mt_R6zh3S5dha) ## Opens up - [The Plantation Atlantic](https://lightmysky.com/learn/history/the-plantation-atlantic-mt_yPFkuKzale)