Reply To: Dr. J, Age of Reason

#16834
Jason Jewell
Participant

Thanks, Dan. On the paper topic, if your instructor wants you to use primary sources, you should look for a translation of something by Jean-Baptiste Colbert as an exposition of the mercantilist position. Richard Cantillon and Adam Smith are the obvious choices for the anti-mercantilist position . . . maybe Quesnay as well. You should also look for the text of legislation like Cromwell’s 1651 Navigation Act to show mercantilism in action and the repeal of the Corn Laws in the 1840s to show the opposite.

Your paper should probably discuss the tendency of mercantilist policies to lead to war as well. There’s plenty of fodder there.