During 1600 and 1800 states of Western Europe were influenced by a policy usually known as mercantilism. In a way it can be said that it was the earliest forms of capitalism. However, there is no general definition of mercantilism, but it is considered as a collection of policies designed to keep the state prosperous by economic regulation. These strategies or policies may or may not have been applied simultaneously at any given time or place by the nations practicing mercantilism.
It basically originates in Rome, the Middle East, and is said to have taken roots in the early middle Ages. Mercantilism might be loosely defined as the distribution of goods in order to realize a profit. These goods were bought in one territory or country for a certain price and later sold in a different place at a higher price. As the Roman Empire grew in size and strength, this form of economic or trading strategy of mercantilism expanded with too. Similarly, contraction of the empire from the fifth century onwards hampered the practice of mercantilism. However, mercantilism started to gain popularity by the 700's.
Mercantilism was largely part of the Roman Empire, European economies from the very beginning had tended to localize. However, Arabic societies do reflect a long history of mercantilism. The Arabic nations were part of the three great trade routes to great empires of the historic times.
That is, Egypt, Persia, and Byzantium. By far the spread of Islam from the seventh century A.D. onwards across Northern Africa, Spain, the Middle East and Asia, the spread of Arabic mercantilism gained momentum. The medieval Europeans then followed Islamic neighbors. From the 1300's onwards, Europeans begin expanding their mercantile trade, which caused a social mobility up till now alien to their culture. This also pushed Europeans and........
