What was the impact of mercantilism on the European colonization of North America?

Mercantilism was a theory of political economy that was prominent in Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Basically, it argued that a nation's power was fundamentally based on its wealth, and that the government ought to regulate the economy in ways that increased the wealth of the state. This theory influenced colonization in a number of ways. First, it promoted the establishment of colonies on the ground that they could produce revenue for the state. Second, it led European nations to place trade regulations on their colonies. For example, English colonies, at least in theory, were banned by a series of laws known as Navigation Acts from trading with other European nations. Third, it caused many colonies to develop economies that were geared toward satisfying demands for certain items. Colonies specialized in certain staple crops, like sugar, tobacco, or rice, and they consumed manufactured goods from the "mother country." Above all, the theory of mercantilism encouraged the development of an Atlantic economy that involved Europe, West Africa, and the Americas. People, goods, and money flowed around the Atlantic, facilitating the growth of colonies. At the same time, this system required a tremendous amount of capital and especially human labor. So while the system of mercantilism facilitated economic growth in Europe and the Americas, it did so on the backs of millions of enslaved people brought from West Africa.