Silver, sugar and state power

History · World History · ages 16-18

Name ______________________ Date ____________

Which pair names two tools used in mercantilist policies?
- Export taxes and equal access for foreign shipping.
- Import tariffs and exclusive trading monopolies.
- Open colonial markets and unrestricted competition.
What goal was common in mercantilist trade policy?
- Build national wealth and state power by increasing bullion reserves.
- Expand consumer choice by removing restrictions on foreign imports.
- Make colonial trade independent of the home government's interests.
The Navigation Acts left every colonial product free of restrictions on shipping and destination.
Circle one: True False
Enslaved people produced plantation sugar sold in Europe. Which statement distinguishes their labour from control of the product?
- Enslaved workers owned the crop because they produced it.
- Enslaved people produced sugar; owners controlled its sale.
- The sale price belonged to workers; planters collected only state taxes.
On a silver route from American mines through Europe to Asian markets, which account separates commercial income from taxes?
- Tax payments to governments counted as mine owners' net profits.
- All shipping receipts were profits, with no transport costs to subtract.
- Owners and merchants sought profits; states collected tax revenues.
A government requires selected colonial sugar exports to pass through an imperial port before reaching foreign buyers. What tool is this?
- An import duty charged on the value of every sugar shipment sold abroad.
- An exclusive right for one firm to grow sugar in the colony.
- A rule directing colonial exports through an imperial port.
How does the argument for mutual gains challenge the belief that one country's gain from trade must be another's loss?
- It predicts that a trade surplus will give every worker an equal benefit.
- It predicts that one partner can gain only when the other loses wealth.
- It allows both partners to gain through specialisation and suitable trade.
The East India Company held a trade monopoly and later ruled territory and collected revenues in India. What explains the later powers?
- Its original monopoly automatically granted territorial rule.
- Military victories and political agreements expanded its authority.
- Its growing trade profits themselves gave it the right to tax Indian rulers.

Answer key

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Silver, sugar and state power W1-mt_uFhCt_GXgN-s1

Import tariffs and exclusive trading monopolies. · Import tariffs taxed foreign goods. Trading monopolies reserved a trade for selected firms.
Build national wealth and state power by increasing bullion reserves. · Many governments linked bullion holdings and trade policy to national wealth and state power.
False · The acts restricted shipping and destinations for selected goods, including sugar. The claim about every product being unrestricted is false.
Enslaved people produced sugar; owners controlled its sale. · Enslaved workers grew and processed cane under coercion. Their work did not give them control over plantation sales or the owners' profits.
Owners and merchants sought profits; states collected tax revenues. · Businesses sought profits after costs. Governments collected taxes. Sales and transport receipts were not all net profit.
A rule directing colonial exports through an imperial port. · The requirement controls the export route. The prompt specifies neither a tax rate nor exclusive rights to grow sugar.
It allows both partners to gain through specialisation and suitable trade. · Mutual gains allow both partners to benefit on suitable terms. They do not imply equal gains for every person or require a loss for one country.
Military victories and political agreements expanded its authority. · The company's territorial authority developed through later warfare and agreements. Neither trading profits nor a monopoly alone granted those powers.