1) The colonies could get better prices on finished goods from nations other than Britain.
2) All colonies
3) Spanish
During the 17th and 18th centuries, England tried to establish and reinforce the economic system of mercantilism in the North American colonies. This system revolved the American colonies providing natural resources for England and England providing manufactured goods for the colonists to buy. In this system, the colonies merely exist to benefit the economy of England.
However, the colonists found this system to be inefficient, as they could buy manufactured goods cheaper from other countries like Spain. When England realized it was losing business to Spain, the British government implemented laws like the Navigation Acts. These laws were meant to prohibit trading and economic relationships between American colonists and other European countries (besides England).
