Development of mercantilism : a study in government intervention in trade, industry and agriculture in England and France during the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries.

This study is an attempt to use the method of historical analysis to answer the question: "Is Government intervention in the economic sphere to become a permanent feature of our everyday life or will it be only a bridge which is going to lead us to a better and more harmonious economy in a free world?" The thesis consists of four parts: Part I deals with the general aspects of the problem. The views of twelve economists are analyzed and the principles underlying the problem methodically examined. The period of transition from feudal to capitalist economy, the growth of the national state and its influence upon economic activities are briefly discussed. Part II describes conditions in England during the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries, the attempts of the governments to intervene in all spheres of economic activity, and the views held by outstanding mercantilists. Similarly, conditions in France are discussed in Part III. The administration of Colbert, the great minister of Finance, is methodically examined. Part IV deals with the decline of the doctrines favouring government intervention and reviews critically the methods, extent and results of mercantilist policy. Through the courtesy of the Public Archives at Ottawa, a few illustrations and a map showing British and French colonial possessions in 1713 are included