Se denomina mercantilismo a un conjunto de ideas políticas o ideas económicas de gran pragmatismo que se desarrollaron durante los siglos XVI, XVII y la primera mitad del siglo XVIII en Europa. Se caracterizó por una fuerte intervención del Estado en la economía, coincidente con el desarrollo del absolutismo monárquico. Consistió en una serie de medidas que se centraron en tres ámbitos: las relaciones entre el poder político y la actividad económica; la intervención del Estado en esta última; y el control de la moneda. Así, tendieron a la regulación estatal de la economía, la unificación del mercado interno, el crecimiento de población, el aumento de la producción propia —controlando recursos naturales y mercados exteriores e interiores, protegiendo la producción local de la competencia extranjera, subsidiando empresas privadas y creando monopolios privilegiados—, la imposición de aranceles a los productos extranjeros y el incremento de la oferta monetaria —mediante la prohibición de exportar metales preciosos y la acuñación inflacionaria—, siempre con vistas a la multiplicación de los ingresos fiscales. Estas actuaciones tuvieron como finalidad última la formación de Estados-nación lo más fuertes posible. El mercantilismo entró en crisis a finales del siglo XVIII y prácticamente desapareció para mediados del XIX, ante la aparición de las nuevas teorías fisiócratas y liberales, las cuales ayudaron a Europa a recuperarse de la profunda crisis del siglo XVII y las catastróficas Guerras Revolucionarias Francesas. Se denomina neomercantilismo a la periódica resurrección de estas prácticas e ideas.

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Mercantilism was an economic theory and practice, dominant in modernized parts of Europe during the 16th to the 18th century, that promoted governmental regulation of a nation's economy for the purpose of augmenting state power at the expense of rival national powers. It was the economic counterpart of the previous medieval version of political power: divine right of kings and absolute monarchy. Mercantilism includes a national economic policy aimed at accumulating monetary reserves through a positive balance of trade, especially of finished goods. Historically, such policies frequently led to war and also motivated colonial expansion. Mercantilist theory varies in sophistication from one writer to another and has evolved over time. High tariffs, especially on manufactured goods, are an almost universal feature of mercantilist policy. Other policies have included \n* forbidding colonies to trade with other nations \n* monopolizing markets with staple ports \n* banning the export of gold and silver, even for payments \n* forbidding trade to be carried in foreign ships \n* subsidies on exports \n* promoting manufacturing through research or direct subsidies \n* limiting wages \n* maximizing the use of domestic resources \n* restricting domestic consumption through non-tariff barriers to trade. Mercantilism in its simplest form is bullionism, yet mercantilist writers have emphasized the circulation of money and reject hoarding. Their emphasis on monetary metals accords with current ideas regarding the money supply, such as the stimulative effect of a growing money supply. Specie concerns have since been rendered irrelevant by fiat money and floating exchange rates. In time, the heavy emphasis on money was supplanted by industrial policy, accompanied by a shift in focus from the capacity to carry on wars to promoting general prosperity. Mature neomercantilist theory recommends selective high tariffs for "infant" industries or to promote the mutual growth of countries through national industrial specialization. The term "mercantile system" was used by its foremost critic, Adam Smith, but "mercantilism" had been used earlier by Mirabeau. While many nations applied the theory, one example was France, economically the most important state in Europe at the time. King Louis XIV followed the guidance of Jean Baptiste Colbert, his controller general of finances (1665–83). It was determined that the state should rule in the economic realm as it did in the diplomatic, and that the interests of the state as identified by the king were superior to those of merchants and everyone else. The goal of mercantilist economic policies was to build up the state, especially in an age of incessant warfare, and the state should look for ways to strengthen the economy and weaken foreign adversaries.

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