in the theory of mercantilism does a country support imports or exports from the colonies

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercantilism

What do you think?

The country imports, or takes in resources. (to sell and get money, and to save money on buying resources.) Yes, I am replying to post made 12 years ago.

In the theory of mercantilism, a country tends to support exports from its own colonies rather than imports. Mercantilism is an economic doctrine that was prevalent during the 16th to 18th centuries and emphasized the accumulation of wealth and power through a favorable balance of trade.

To understand why mercantilism favored exports over imports, you would need to consider the core principles behind this theory. Mercantilists believed that a country's wealth and power came from accumulating precious metals, such as gold and silver. They believed that a positive balance of trade, where a country exports more than it imports, would result in a net inflow of precious metals, thus increasing wealth and power.

In this regard, colonies were seen as sources of valuable resources that could be exported back to the mother country. The colonies provided raw materials, such as timber, minerals, and agricultural products, which could be manufactured or processed in the mother country and then exported as finished goods. By encouraging exports from the colonies, the mother country aimed to benefit from the inflow of wealth generated by the sale of these valuable resources.

On the other hand, imports were viewed as detrimental to a nation's wealth under mercantilism. It was believed that importing goods from other countries would result in an outflow of precious metals as payment. This was seen as weakening the economy and reducing the country's power. Hence, mercantilist policies often imposed high tariffs or trade barriers to discourage imports and stimulate domestic production and exporting.

To summarize, in the theory of mercantilism, a country typically supports exports rather than imports from its colonies, as it aims to accumulate wealth through a positive balance of trade and the inflow of precious metals.